A Wedding Poem

Adam gave his rib, so that Eve would have life.
God then gave Eve to Adam to be his wife.
Joining them together, let no man separate
The sign of their covenant is when they consummate

Marriage is more than vows and rings
It is more than promises and ceremonies
It is the mysterious blending of two separate lives,
The creation of God, in joining a man to his wife.

Now there will be days of uncertainty,

disagreements and even strife
But remember that what God brings together,

it is meant for the whole of life.
There are not many things that I can promise you,

but this is one
Make Jesus the treasure of your heart

and you will have a happy home

So tonight we have gather together to celebrate and sing
Not just the marriage of Cacey and Megan,

but to our risen King
Who loved us and died for us,

so that we might see,
That through faith in Jesus

we are made alive, in Him, eternally.

Now let me end by pronouncing this blessing upon you
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, And the love of God the Father,
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.”[1]

“May the Lord bless you, and keep you;
And make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you;
And lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace”[2]

[1] 2 Corinthians 13:14
[2] Numbers 6:24-26

Discerning and Dealing with Sin

Psalm 19 is a wonderful psalm--Decalring the glory of God revealed in creation (vs. 1-6) and displaying the worth of God's Word as more desirable than much fine gold and sweeter than honey from the honeycomb (vs. 7-11), ending with David's instructions on discerning and dealing with the sins that still linger with in our hearts (vs 12-14).

It is in verses 12-14 that we discover how to deal with sin in our life. David categorizes sin into two broad groupings in these verses. The first is perplexing sin and the second is persumptuous sins.

The perplexing sins are those sins that are mysterious to us and often hidden from our eyes. David said in verse 12, "who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults." Perplexing sins are those sins that seem to sneak up on us. We say, think, feel, or do things and dont understand why these things just happened. You say something that you didnt mean to say or maybe you feel some feeling you dont mean to feel. Perplexing sins seem to come out of nowhere. "Who can discern his errors?" Who can get to the bottom of his own sinning? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, "the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" This type of sinning that we must fight against leaves us feeling much like Paul at the end of Romans 7--perplexed!

The persumptuous sins are those sins that we do with forethought and defiance and arrogance. It is those sins that we do from a rebellious heart. David said in verse 13, "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins." These are those sins that we commit becasue we presume to know better than God--that our sins are no big deal. It is those sins done with an attitude that disregards what God has said to be wrong and harmful and declares "I am going to do it anyways!"

Every born again Lover of God still has lingering sin that we must fight against on a daily basis. They are either perplexing sins or presumptuous sins, but these feelings, and attitudes, and actions, and words are sin regardless and must be dealt with.
So how do we who love God deal with theses lingering sins?

David provides us the answer in these verses. First, concerning the perplexing sins he says "Acquit me of hidden faults." In other words, prayer for God's mercy and forgiveness as soon as the thought, attitude, word, or action is made known to you to be sin. Second, concerning the presumptuous sins David prays "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins." We must pray for power to overcome. We must plead God to make our heart love Christ more than all other things, that His word will be to us more desirable than much fine gold and sweeter to us than honey from the honeycomb.

Oh that we might fight against these sins by praying for God to forgive us for both preplexing and presumptuous sins and that He might empower us to overcome them both.

There is one last thought. David spent four verses on the value of God's word (vs. 7-11). This is not accidental, but by design. The way we fight sin is with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). So we must take the Sword by the power of the Holy Spirit with prayer and strike down our enemies--put to death our remaining sin with in our hearts.

Grace be with you as you fight

Ten reasons why we need the Bible

The Bible is a necessary part of life because it points us to Jesus who is the source and foundation of joy and happiness (John 15:11; 17:13). So the Word is necessary because it is the written expression of the eternal and incarnate Word, Jesus.

Here are ten reasons why the Word is so valuable and why we must mediate on it day and night as the Psalmist says:

1. The Word of God awakens and strengthens faith (Romans 10:17; John 16:13-14)
2. Through hearing the Word, God supplies the Holy Spirit (Gal 3:5; 1Thess 1:6)
3. The Word of God creates and sustains life (John 10:10, 1Peter 1:23-25; John 6:63)
4. The Word of God gives hope (Rom 15:4
5. The Word of God leads us to freedom (John 8:32; John 17:17)
6. The Word of God is the key to answered prayer (John 15:7; 1John 5:14)
7. The Word of God is the source of wisdom (Col 2:3, 3:16)
8. The Word of God gives crucial warnings (Ps 19:10-11)
9. The Word of God enables us to defeat the devil (1John 2:14; 2Tim 2:25-26)
10. The Word of God is the source of great and lasting joy (Ps 119:72, 103, 162)

You can find these with a fuller explaination in John Pipers book "When I dont desire God"

The Sovereignty of God

The absolute sovereignty of God is a difficult doctrine for many to understand and accept. I love this doctrine, it is the foundation for all I understand about God. Johathan Edwards the great American preacher of the 1700 speaks about his journey to believe this doctrine:

“From my childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, in choosing whom he would to eternal life, and rejecting whom he pleased; leaving them eternally to perish, and be everlastingly tormented in hell. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me…there has been a wonderful alteration in my mind, in respect to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, form that day to this; so that I scarce ever have found so much as the rising of an objection against it, in the most absolute sense, in God’s shewing mercy to whom he will show mercy, and hardening whom he will. God’s absolute sovereignty and justice, with respect to salvation and damnation, is what my mind seems to rest assured of, as much as of any thing that I see with my eyes, at least it is so at times. The doctrine has every often appeared exceeding pleasant, bright, and sweet. Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God.”(Jonathan Edwards, Selections (New York: Hill and Wang, 1962, 58-59).

Let me ask a question for further reflection of the sovereignty of God. In Ephesians 1:11-12 we find that God "works all things after the counsel of His will.” What do you suppose all things include?

What You Can Do For Your Pastor

This is a bookmark that my wife keeps in her bible. It is the same bookmark that her grandmother kept in her bible (her husband was a preacher).

WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR PASTOR

1. Pray for him.

No one needs your prayes as much as he hwo stands to preach the truth of God's word.

2. Believe in him.

If he can know you believe in him with all your heart, he will be encouraged to do his best.

3. Stand by him.

Support his visions and dreams for your church. If your church had confidence enough in his abilit to call him as your leader, then stand by him.

4. Talk him up.

Never run him down.

5. Give him a fair trial.

All any person can ask is an honest opportunity to prove himself. Give your pastor that opportunity.

6. Treat him generously.

Churches have often been stingy with their pastors. A little generosity will not only make his way smoother, it will also challenge him to show his apprectiation by working harder.

7. Help him conserve time for his study.

Any person who speaks as often as he does must spend a great deal of time in study and prayer. Protect his time so he can devote himself to this task.

8. Praise him when he preaches well.

He doesnt want flattery, but sincere compliments are always appreciated.

9. Criticize him only to his face and always in love.

We can at least be men and women who meet each other openly and honestly on any matter. But more than this, we are Christians who practice love in all our relationships.

A Word of Encouragement to a Friend

This is a letter my wife wrote to a friend going through a difficult situation. I pray that it will be an encouragement to you and help you to trust in God and rejoice even in your tribulations.

Hey Friend,

First of all I want to say that I am not writing to "answer" any of the questions you were asking Andy about. So, my words may not even be anything that you were looking for...to answer some of the things your heart is screaming. I just wanted to share a few things I was thinking about as a result of some of the things you said. I was thinking about what you wrote to Andy and a song kept coming to my head...i'm sure you know it, but i just wanted to share...

Have faith in God. He's on His throne.
Have faith in God. He watches over His own
He CANNOT fail. He MUST prevail.
Have faith in God. Have faith in God.

(Isaiah 46:10; Eph. 1:6, 9, 11--I inserted these verse to show the biblical truth of this song)

See, my friend...take a step back from your situation. Look at it from God's perspective. His timing is perfect. He has so neatly orchestrated these events to happen when they have. (see blog post "who killed emma?" for an explaination on how God is sovereign over evil, yet He is without sin nor cause poeple to sin--my insert). He is in control of this and He CANNOT fail in this situation. It's against His nature to fail...He cant....HE MUST prevail. It is who He is and He cannot go against His character. Now you have to have faith in Him. Don't think about man and what man can or cant do to fix the situation...the great thing is is that you dont have to trust any man or woman with this.....He is able to work through any person to bring about His plan. Release the fear you have in people and have faith in God working through them.

People are going to believe what they want to believe. You stand firm in knowing your heart in all of this and in knowing you did what God wanted you to do. You are one of the most sincere women I know, in regards to your relationship with the Lord and your desire to follow Him. Don't let maniuplation, or anger, or a need to be seen as right fog what you know to be true, holy, good, blameless, noble, excellent, and pure. Run to God...only say what He wants you to say to those He tells you to talk to. Don't try to "right the wrongs" on your own accord. Stay as focused as possible on the Lord and let Him guide you to what He wants you to be a part of in the restoration process.

Know that I love you and am so proud of how you have conducted yourself. Love ya so much. hang in there.

The Night Before Pastoring

Twas the night before pastoring and all through my soul

Were nerves that were raging and yet peace over flowed

Because my savior is a Sovereign King

Who reigns and rules inspite of me.

The fears that swell in my heart are unfounded and untrue

Becasue Jesus has equipped me to accomplish the task I must do;

Yet I know my own fraility, my weaknesses and sin

The feelings of doubt that fill my mind again and again .

So I turn to the Word, the truth, the written reality

And fall to my knees convicted, yet set free

Beseeching God to open my eyes so that I might see

And behold the wonderful things in His law that He has for me.

I learn of His power, His might, love and mercy,

His righteousness and wrath, but more importantly

I am reminded of his all-sustaining grace

That keeps me and causes me to finish the race.

True there are things I don't know or understand

But God works all things out according to His Sovereign plan;

Like the times of joy and heavenly bliss

But also the pain, suffering, and distress.

There is one thing that I will always aim to do

By the sustaining grace of God this will remain true:

That in my body, whether by life or death,

Christ will be magnified and my soul will find rest.

One thing I pray and make it my goal:

That Christ will become the treasure of your soul

And that you will always find Him to be

Faithful and true now and throughout eternity.

One last thing before we depart

And I hope that you will take it to heart

From the ocean depths to the mountain heights

Happy Sunday to all and to all a good night.

The Calm before the Storm

We just got back from vacation. God has shown his benevolence towards us through Robin's sister and brother-in-law. They gave us four days and three nights at the beach and we enjoyed every minute of it. Rest is needed in life, especially rest in the Lord. I think one attack from the enemy both in our personal lives and in church life is busyness. We work ourselves to death trying to do to much, pouring our lives out, but never refilling. Rest is necessary. Jesus often withdrew himself from the crowds and the disciples to rest in the arms of His Father (God). Yes, worked was needed and many things could have been done, but Jesus knew the importance of retreating and withdrawing (for a time) to a place of solitude.

I have been resting for nearly three months now as I stepped away from formal ministry. It has been good to see how God works through His people and unfold His plan before my eyes. It has been difficult as well. I think it is difficult because it is contray to our sinful nature. We dont like not having some sense of control and this realization is made no clearer to us than when we loose our job, or home, or family member. But there is no better (or harder) place than being aware of your complete dependence upon our Sovereign King.

Monday I will enter back into formal ministry as a Senior Pastor. The thought makes me tremble and rejoice. The responsiblilty will be great, expectations high (atleast upon myself), so our trip to the beach was timely--as is the plan and will of God.

We Have Arrived!

It has been a long four days. Moving has been misserable, but God's Mercy has been wonderful. We have everything in our apartment (everything has its place and those things have found thier place). It has been HOT, and we are tired of all the lifting boxes and furniture, but the mercy of God in the face and help of our new church family has been so encouraging. Eight of them drove down from Belton to Milledgeville on Thursday morning, helped us load up then drove back to Anderson that afternoon where others awaited our arrival and helped unload all the STUFF into the evening hours. It was because of them and those from Milledgeville that this move was enjoyable, even in the pain.
It is good to finally call Anderson our home and Bethany Baptist our church (we offically joined this morning). I am looking forward to laboring along side our new church family in missions and ministry by the mercy of God for the joy of all peoples in Christ to the glory of God.

Difficult Days for a Little Boy

Yesterday was great and really hard. We are moving, so we wanted to let Isaac invite some of his best friends over for one last adventure. They were excited to see each other and had a blast all day, until the boys had to go home.
I thought I could be big tough dad, but when I saw the look on Isaac's face as his friends parents drove up to take thier boys home my heart broke. It is hard for him to understand why we are moving, but he knows that he will not be able to see his friends anymore and that is really hard for him to deal with.
I asked him the other day if he wanted to move. He said no. I asked him if he would be willing to move if Jesus told us too. He said yes. I know that the days ahead will be filled with joy and Isaac will make new friends, but these are difficult days for a little boy.

Bethany Baptist Church

Yesterday I preached at Bethany Baptist Church in-view-of-a-call. It was a little odd becasue I knew that after preaching the church would vote for me to either be thier new senior pastor or vote for me to leave. I give thanks to God above for our time yesterday. The church voted and I will be the next pastor at Bethany Baptist Church in Belton South Carolina. And what is even sweeter is the church voted 100% Yes for me and my family. This is not common and has never happened in the history of Bethany.
We are hoping to find a place to live this week and probably try and move sometime next week or weekend. My first day will be July 20th and my first Sunday will be July 26th. Pray for me--I need it desperately. Pray for my family. Robin needs a job and a home. Isaac, Morgan, and Silas need stability and friends.

Grace be with you

Who Killed Emma?

I once had a dog named Emma and my family loved her. Last year she became sick so I took my dog, to the vet to be euthanized. I put her in the car, drove her to the vet, walked her into the room, laid her on the table. Then the doctor came in and injected the medicine into her leg and a few minutes later she was dead. Now who killed Emma? Did I kill her or did the doctor kill her? On the one hand I determined to bring this evil upon her. It was my decision to take her to the vet knowing that she would be euthanize.

However, I did not inject the medicine into her body that stopped her heart—the doctor did! So who brought about this evil? It was by my design, my will, my plan, my determination that brought about this evil. However, I did not coerce the doctor in to bringing about this evil. The doctor acted like a doctor. It is who she is and what she does. She did not inject the medicine against her will. She injected it because that was the strongest motive at the moment of decision. So she is fully and justly accountable (responsible) for the evil brought about, but this evil was according to my determined plan.

Did it grieve me to bring about this evil? The answer is yes. Did I not know what I was doing and the pain it would cause by making the decision I made? No. I knew the pain it would cause but I also knew it was the best thing to do—it was the greater good. But, even knowing this beforehand it did not lessen the sadness I felt at the moment the evil occurred at the hands of the doctor according to my “sovereign” will.

This is true of God as well. God does ordain that evil be and governs all things, but is not the cause of evil. He does not coerce men to act against their desire to do evil, we do it because we want to do it, but God so disposes (arranges) all things so that (in accordance with moral necessity) all men make only those choices (choices they want to make and determined by those things they deem most desirable at the moment of decision) ordained by God from all eternity.

The clearest example of this in Scripture is the death of Jesus. Who killed Jesus? On the one hand Peter says, "This man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." (Acts 2:23). Notice that the death of Christ was according to the predetermined will of God, but it was accomplished by the the hands of godless men. God did not coerce the men to kill Jesus, they wanted to kill Him, for the Romans soldiers it was thier duty. Yet this evil brought on Jesus had been ordained by God from all eternity. God does ordain that evil be and governs all things, but is not the agent or cause or tempter of evil.

The Sovereignty of God is the most comforting doctrines in all of Scripture to me. Regardless what might befall me, even death itself, God is still in control and He is eternal good and infinite love therefore I can find peace and joy regardless even in the darkest of circumstances.

To My Little Princess, Morgan

You are my princess so smart, beautiful, and sweet
And seven days ago you turned three.

You have grown into such a wonderful little girl
And you are the joy of my world.
Becoming more like your mommy every day,
I hope you have had a happy birthday.

If there is one gift I could give you, even entice
It would be faith to treasure Jesus Christ,
Above all dolls, clothes, friends, and boys,
Even more than glamour and toys.
Because it is by His blood alone,
That we may enter the joy of our eternal home.

There may be times that we don’t see eye to eye,
But I will always look towards the sky
In prayer, beseeching our Father who is in heaven
That He might keep you pure and unleavened
All your days and call you by His sovereign grace
Sustaining your heart with joy until you see His glorious face.

I love you more than words can express,
You are, and always will be, my little princess.

Love Daddy
June 2009

The Misery of Moving and the Power of Preaching

Did I tell you that we might be moving? I travel to South Carolina on June 26-28 to preach in view of a call at a church outside Anderson. If the church gives a yes vote we will be moving in early July. Moving is miserable, but we are excited about the oppotunity to serve in this particular church. Did I mention that I would be the Senior Pastor? Just thinking about it causes me to trimble because my heart is so prone to fear. So what do we do when we become afriad or face a difficult situation or risk big things for Christ? Isaiah 41:10 has been my song in the night "Fear not! For I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you by my righteous right hand." Oh how I love the Word of God, what comfort it brings to my fraile and fragmented soul.



I am excited and overwhelmed by the thought of being a senior pastor for many reasons, but what I do know is that if God has called He will also equip. I might be taking a risk--stepping out by faith with confidence only in Christ, but God is not taking a risk with me--not because I am a safe investment, but because He is a sovereign God. Martin Luther once said, "Lord command what you will but will what you command." In other words, if God has called me to be a pastor or you to take some great risk for Him then He will enable you to do it--Trust Him!

What do you do now?

I have posted a blog and don't know how to instruct people to go and find it. I know this because I cannot find it unless I sign in at blog spot. HELP!

Blogger? Really!

Today I begin something new. This is my first time blogging and I am uncertain how disciplined I will be in the new venture. So why am I doing this? That is a good question. The truth is, I don't really know. Maybe it is because I am moving and people want to keep up with me and my family, but there is facebook for that, which I might add that I am not very good at checking or updating. So why blog? For whatever reason I think it will be cool to right down my thoughts, no rather to speak about the glory of God in Christ in order to encourage the believers as they walk the dangerously narrow road, to confront the lost who unknowingly need Chirst, and to answer questions that I am often asked.

Oh that God in His grace might use this blog as a conduit of grace and mercy to those who need it starting with myself.