From the Pastor for August 3, 2008

The picture is of our pastor and his grandson at pinesprings baptist camp July 2008.

From the Pastor:
(Psa 73:25) Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
The psalmist asks the Lord a question. The Lord certainly knows the answer to all of our questions. This question is a matter of the heart. There is but one person that this and every child of God desires and for which he longs. In all of heaven there are literally millions of people and tens of thousands of angels. Among these are many who are notable and outstanding. It would be amazing to speak with the apostle Paul, or Peter, Moses, Elijah, Enoch. It would be awesome to speak with Gabriel or Michael the arc angel. It would be a joy indeed to speak with grandfathers who you never knew here on earth. It will certainly be wonderful to speak with those loved ones which we watched as they pasted from this life to the next. Far above these is our desire for the Lord. In all of heaven there is none to be praised like the Lord. Indeed all the inhabitants there direct our accolades toward the only one worthy of our worship and praise, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The psalmist also relates that there is none on earth as desirable as the Lord. Living on the earth today are some six billion people. Some of these are notable and might well be worth meeting. Some human beings on earth have done benevolent and courageous things. There are some who might well deserve the praise of men. For the Child of God there is none that compares to our Lord. He stands supreme above all of those persons, places, and things about which we care. He is the one who has saved our souls, who has loved us with the greatest love that man has ever known.

From the Pastor for July 27, 2008

This picture is of our pastor hiking which is one of his favorite things to do.

From the Pastor:
Psalm 42:9 “Why go I mourning?”
Can you answer this question, oh child of God? Or has the question no application to your life and experience. I have never met a man or woman who has not at some time or other in their life mourned for one reason or another. I have mourned over my own failures and sinful ways. I have mourned with those who were smitten with grief due to death or illness. It is OK and even expected under certain circumstances to mourn. The Apostle Paul spoke of a godly sorrow which works repentance to salvation. Mourning is good if the reason is good. Thus the question raised by the psalmist is a valid question. It does matter why you mourn.
When my father died I did not go mourning about as those who have no hope. My father is in heaven and of this I am confident. I am confident that I will see him again for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. I do not mourn for the loss of his influence on my life for he continues to influence me by the example he set for me while he lived. I do not mourn the loss of his company for the Lord has taken him away and I will not mourn over that circumstance which comes about to the glory of God. I place my confidence in the promise of God that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. This confidence forbids me to go mourning. I rather rejoice that the Lord reigns and am moved to go praising rather than to go mourning.

From the Pastor for July 13, 2008

The picture is of our pastor at Pine Springs Baptist Camp taken right before he got up to preach.

From the Pastor: Luke 15:2 “This man receiveth sinners.”
Can you see in this verse the great condescension of God? This Man, who towers above all other men, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, this Man receiveth sinners! This Man, who is none other than the eternal God, before whom angels cover their faces with their wings, this Man receiveth sinners! It needs an angel’s tongue to describe such a mighty stoop of love. That any of us should be willing to seek after the lost is nothing wonderful or marvelous because they are of our own race. But that He, the offended God, against whom the transgression has been committed, should take upon himself the form of a servant, and bear the sin of many, and should then be willing to receive the vilest of the vile, this is indeed marvelous!
“This Man receiveth sinners” not so that they may remain sinners, but he receives them that he may pardon their sins, justify them, cleanse their hearts, preserve their souls by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and enable them to serve him, to show forth his praise, and to have communion with him. None are so precious in Jesus’ sight as the sinners for whom He died. This fact is still most sure today, he is still receiving sinners. Would to God sinners would receive him.