Category: Featured Articles

by: Jason Williams

My parents made sure our family did everything together. If one of us went for a walk around the lake, all of us went for a walk around the lake, If one us went to town for ice cream, the entire family was going to load up in the truck and go to town for ice cream. We were inseparable and work was no exception, especially when it came time to rake our two and half acre yard in the fall. Dad would wake us on Saturday morning and mom would have a big breakfast for us, then we would head out in the yard and the fun began. My sisters and mom raked, my dad handled the big tarp, and my brother and I had the other tarp. Dad and mom were masters at making work like this fun. They challenged us to build the biggest pile of leaves we could, and then we would all take turns jumping into the piles we had made. When the work was done, it was time for a bonfire, complete with s’mores, hot dogs, and hot apple cider. We finished sitting together by the fire telling stories and watching the sunset over the lake.

At the time it seemed like we were simply having a good time, but now, as I look around and see families full of brothers and sisters that hate each other and refuse to let their children see their grandparents, families that seem more like roommates than family members, I realize my parents were doing much more than just having fun with us, they were keeping us close together as a family and teaching us that while working hard and spending time alone with God are all vital parts of our lives, so is family time. Our family is close because my parents kept us that way. So this fall take some time off, gather your family together, cook some hotdogs, rake some leaves and fall in them. It may seem that you are merely falling into leaves, but really, you are falling into family.

Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH
churchonhigh.wordpress.com

by: Dr. Lonnie Mattingly

Psalms 54, “Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.”

Sometimes when you get a lot of facts, details and ideas all at one time, they will slip right by you. Like James said, you will look in the mirror of the Word of God and you will see yourself for what you are. You will see some changes that ought to me made, corrections and help from the Word of God. Then, after you have read these things, unless you make a concentrated effort to remember and respond, you will forget what manner of man you saw as you were reading. It will all just evaporate from your memory and you will not remember at all what God revealed to you about yourself that needed improvement. Someone said, “The biggest room in the world is room for improvement.”

As you read God’s Word or sit under the teaching and preaching of It, it might be a good idea to jot down the things that come to your mind and the areas where you need to make some changes in your life. I want what you read today to make a difference in your life tomorrow. I want you to be a victorious Christian. My key word is mentioned twice in Psalm 54:6. The word is “I”. It is a one-letter word. I want you to think with me about that little personal pronoun “I”. You see one of the problems in our society is we have been taught to be self-centered. The average person in America today lives for self. We examine everything in light of what affect does it have on me, how do I see this thing, how does it look to me. We have our share of “I” problems.

Satan had “I” problems, Isaiah 14:12-14 “How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou had said in thine heart, I will ascent into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Why did Satan got kicked out of Heaven? Why is it that the Devil was chased from his place of prominence in which God had intended for him to serve (perhaps as one of the archangels)? Five times in this passage the Devil said, “I”. His whole attitude and existence centered around what he said he was going to do. He was all enamored with, caught up in, and infatuated by that first person pronoun “I”. He was looking out for number one.

A lot of people have “I” problems. I found an old anniversary picture of my wife and I. In that picture I do not have glasses. I was in the transition period. During that time I only wore glasses to read, and the rest of the time they stayed in my pocket. People do not want to admit when they start having eye problems. During that period of time, I would carry my glasses in my shirt pocket. I was over helping clean the gym on our church property. We were getting ready for some event. We had carpets to be laid on the floor. I put it down and said, “Man, these carpets need to be smoothed out.” I saw a lump in the middle of the carpet, and so I went over and stomped on it trying to get it to go down. Then I said, “Where are my glasses?” They were under the carpet. It was a great day.

Another example of this happened when my parents took my brother John, his wife Sophie, Nancy and myself out for their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary supper. My brother was in his eye sight transition where I was about six years prior, so he was not wearing them regularly. We got to the restaurant and he had left his glasses at home. You should have seen him trying to read the menu! He borrowed mine to try to use them as a magnifying glass. His problem was that he had eye problems.

We all have “I” problems of some kinds. The “I” problem I am talking about is a little play on words, but the truth of the matter is, it has everything to do with how you look at things. It has everything to do with your perspective.

We all have “I” problems. We all have that tendency to see things from our own perspective and not from God’s. That was the Devil’s problem. He was looking at things the wrong way and it got him in a heap of trouble. He got kicked out of Heaven. He has been an adversary of God, God’s work and program ever since. He is your enemy and my enemy. It all started with that one letter word, “I”. “I” is the center of sin and pride. It would do us all well to look in the mirror of God’s Word and see ourselves as God sees us.

Lonnie Mattingly
Pastor Emeritus
Shawnee Baptist Church
Louisville, KY
http://lonniemattingly.com

by: Chris Dallas

“Hello my name is Chris Dallas, and I am a drug addict and alcoholic…” It is sad to say, but this is how I was known, not only in Alcoholics Anonymous, but to friends and family. What I’m about to tell you by no means is meant to bring light or glory to sin and Satan, but rather to be a message of warning to the reader.

Up until I was ten years old, I lived in a little town in Louisiana called Monroe. At that time in my life, from what I can remember, I had a God-fearing family – a mom and dad who were faithful to church, daily walked with the Lord, and my dad even drove a church bus picking up kids in the neighborhood to bring them to church. I’ve two older sisters, and in that time of my life, the oldest sister began to be very rebellious. She started hanging around friends who definitely were not pleasing to my parents, and she even began to partake of their worldly activities. Things got so unruly and uncontrollable with her that my parents made the decision to take her to a girls home in Kosciusko, Mississippi, called the Lighthouse Children’s Home. I remember, just like it was yesterday, making the trip with my parents and two sisters from Monroe to Kosciusko. When my dad turned on that old dirt road that led to the girls home, it seemed like it was five or six miles long when he finally got up to the administration office and he told my other sister and I to stay in the vehicle while he, my mom, and sister went inside. I didn’t know what was happening then, but now I know – my parents were turning over their rights of my sister to the girls home. I remember as we all left, minus my older sister, dad drove down that old dirt road headed home, but about halfway down the dirt road he pulled the car over and put in it park. For the first time in my life I saw my dad cry.

I remember that day making myself and God a promise that I would never hurt my mom and dad the way my sister had hurt them, and they would never have to cry over failures and mistakes in my life like they had my sister’s. A couple of months after that particular incident, my dad came home and told the family that the company he was working for was transferring him from Monroe, Louisiana to Memphis, Tennessee. A couple weeks later we packed up a U-haul truck and made the journey to Memphis.

When we moved to Memphis our family got settled in many things. We settled in our new home, my sister and I got settled in our new school, our parents got settled in their new jobs; but we never got settled in a new church. If there’s anyone reading this that used to be in church and fell out for one reason or another, you know exactly what happens; Satan gets a strong hold on that family, and it’s a domino affect down the slippery road of sin. I continued to keep the promise I made myself and God that day we dropped my sister off at the girl’s home for some time, but at fourteen years of age that promise would soon be forgotten. For the next eight years I would head down a dead-end road of destruction and turmoil.

I started playing on the junior varsity football team, began to hang out with friends that my parents didn’t approve of, and started doing things that I definitely didn’t learn at home. My new friends were smoking cigarettes, so I started smoking cigarettes. They were sneaking around drinking beer, so I started sneaking around with them. They were stealing tens and twenties out of their moms and dads pocket book to buy dope, and I started doing the same. At fourteen years of age, I found myself in a drug rehab called Parkwood Hospital in Olive Branch, Mississippi. That day I was sitting in a small office with my mom and dad across from me, and a psychiatrist next to me. The doctor began to tell my parents that I would have to live in that rehab for thirty days and get up and say, “My name is Chris Dallas, and I’m a dope addict and alcoholic.” She told them how I would enter a twelve-step program and trust a higher power,(whatever I chose to be my higher power) to help me with my addictive behavior. Obviously, tears were streaming down mama’s face at this point, but only the second time I’d ever seen my dad cry….my dad looked at me and said, “Chris if you promise us that you’ll quit doing the things you been doing and quit hanging out with the crowd you’re hanging out with, we will let you come back home, but if you can’t promise us that, then you’ll have to stay here.” As a fourteen year old punk, I looked at my dad and said, “I hate your guts, and I never want to see you again.”

That was two weeks before Christmas. I remember when Christmas morning came around I was sitting in a large room with fifty or sixty other drug addicted teenagers. One after the other, I began to see their parents come down the hallway with Christmas presents under their arms for their kids, and I said to myself, “There’s no way in the world my mom and dad are going to come and visit me the way I talked to them two weeks ago.” But, before that thought exited my mind, my mom and dad were walking down the same hall with presents under their arm. That day I began to make promise after promise that I would quit hanging out with the crowd I was hanging out with and I would quit doing the things I had been doing, but they were just verbal promises. I was expecting supernatural results with only human efforts. From that moment, as a fourteen year old dope addict until I was twenty-two years old, I went through five drug rehabs, in and out of county jails, and even ended up homeless living in my car. Many times my parents would leave the comfort of their home on Thanksgiving and Christmas to come to some smoke filled AA room and watch their son get up and say, “My name is Chris Dallas, and I’m a dope addict and alcoholic.”

At twenty-two years old, I got word my parents were going on a weekend vacation to Hot Springs, Arkansas. As soon as they left town, I broke in their home and stole everything I could get my hands on in order to feed the drug addiction I had in my life. When Monday morning came around, the dope was gone, the money was gone, and no gas was in the car. I went to my parent’s house and my dad met me in the middle of the driveway and said, “We’re not going to call the cops on you anymore, we’re not going to pack your bags and take you back to rehab.” He said, “As far as your mother and I are concerned, you’re no longer welcome here, and we’ve been down to the police station and signed a restraining order where you can’t come within a hundred yards of the house.”

I got in my car that day, the money gone, the gas gone, the dope gone; but one thing I thought I had, I thought I had some friends. I went to their house, one after the other, and began to ask if I could have a place to stay for a night or two, and all they wanted to know was how much dope I had or how much money I had. I came to a quick realization that day, the ones I was treating like my worst enemies (my parents) were in reality my best friends.

After not finding anyone to let me stay the night with them, I got in my car with no gas or money, and began to head down I-55 South in Mississippi. When I made it about a mile past a little town called Hernando, my car completely ran out of gas. I was able to coast into a rest area, where I would live in my car for a lengthy period of time. My mom was a nurse in Memphis, Tennessee, about an hour from that rest area, and she would come to pick me up each night and take me into town to get a bite to eat. After we ate, mom would take me back to my car at the rest area, and with tears streaming down my face and tears streaming down hers, I’d say, “Mom, please let me come back home. I promise you, I will quit hanging out with those friends. I promise you I will quit doing the things I’ve been doing, if you’ll just let me come back home.” My mom would say, “Chris we’ve heard those promises for too long, and until we see a difference in your life, you are not coming back home.”

One night when my mom came to pick me up at the rest area, she drove past the little town where we would grab a bite to eat each night. She drove clear on the other side of Memphis to a suburb of Memphis called Bartlett, Tennessee. Little did I know, but mama made arrangements for me to quit living in my car and move into a “halfway house” for dope addicts and alcoholics. I came from a good family; a family that definitely never did without. My parents always provided me clothes on my back, food on the table, and a roof over my head; but now I got out of my moms vehicle that night as a twenty-two year old dope addict with just a few clothes in a garbage bag. My mom told me as I checked in the halfway house that night, “Chris, you are not going to hear from your dad and I for some time because we have been getting harassing phone calls from drug dealers who you owe money to.” Sure enough, I didn’t hear from my folks for quiet a while (about six months to be exact).

In order to live in the halfway house, I had to attend AA meetings each night. One particular night; Sunday, August 16, 1998, I was walking out of the halfway house headed to an AA meeting when the phone rang. I went and answered the phone, and it was the sweetest voice I’d heard in a long time; it was my mama. She said, “Chris your sisters and I have found a church we’ve been going to, and we would like for you to go with us tonight.” Immediately, I agreed to go, but not to hear about God and learn about the Lord; I agreed to go simply so I could manipulate my mom one more time to allow me to come back home and get out of that halfway house.

That night I went to church and the preacher gave a sermon entitled, “How to get out of financial bondage.” Little did I realize, but I was in a worse bondage than that; I was in the awful bondage of sin. The invitation was given, and something was going on in my heart. I didn’t know what it was called then, but now I realize it was the Holy Ghost conviction. I was at a place in life when there wasn’t one family member who could allow me in their home, or one person on planet Earth I could even call my friend. God was certainly working in my life that night at the invitation, and He sent a man to come and stand beside me in the pew. That man put his arm around me and whispered these words in my ear, “You don’t know who I am, but I’ve been praying for you.” When he said those words, my cold, hard heart began to melt. He asked if he could talk with me in the back of the church, and I said, “sure.”

That gentleman began to take me on a journey, and that journey was called the Romans Road. He began to show me from God’s Word that I was a sinner destined to Hell; not because I was a dope addict, but all men are destined there before Salvation. He began to show me if I died in my sin without Christ as my personal Saviour, I would spend an eternity in Hell forever. All that he was telling me was bad news so far, but he started telling me some good news. He showed me in the Bible even though death and Hell were my penalty because of my sin; Jesus Christ paid that penalty in full, when He died on the cross and shed His blood for all men’s sin. He showed me how it was personal between me and God, and that I must confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus Christ would save me. That man then proceeded to show me, in my opinion the greatest verse in the entire Bible; Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved.” Tears began to stream down my face and tears began to stream down his; and at that moment I bowed my head, and to the best of my ability I admitted being a sinner, and deserved to go to Hell, but asked Jesus Christ to save my soul.

Since that night, my life has never been the same. As the old song goes, “I’m just a nobody telling everybody about a Somebody Who can save anybody.” I testify to you, that AA couldn’t help, and rehab couldn’t help, and jail cells couldn’t help, but it was God Who made the difference in my life.

Chris Dallas
Evangelist
Bethel Baptist Church
Walls, MS

by: Jason Williams

We hear a lot of words these days. The average person says over seven thousand words each and every day. Add to that all the words we hear from our family, those at our jobs, the television, radio, and all the people talking around us, and we hear over fifty thousand words each and every day. With all of those words, it’s difficult to understand the importance and power every word we say has. Words are powerful. Words can start wars and make peace, they can build up or destroy. I think Solomon summed it up best when he said. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Proverbs 25:11) In other words, a word is powerful, and when the right word is spoken at the right time it is a beautiful thing.

Words, like everything else, are changing daily. Consider the word gnarly. When my dad was young, gnarly meant “twisted.” When I was young, it meant “awesome.” Today, it means “dangerous or rough.” In less than fifty years, one word changed in meaning three times. We could go on and on with many words that have changed in meaning since the 1950’s.

Though words are changing, I want to focus on one word and that word is “marriage.” Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ignored the Constitution, overstepped the wishes of the people and decided that the word “marriage” can be changed. Herein lies the problem, our government did not create marriage, God did; therefore, they have no more authority to define marriage than you or I do. A word is only as powerful as what it describes, and marriage defines a union instituted by God Himself. In fact, the very first words uttered in history by man are spoken immediately following the creation of this union.

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:21-24)

God created marriage, and we cannot change it. While our Supreme Court can ignore the wishes of the people, while our legislators can claim they are changing marriage, while our President can force his will on us in this “free society” and demand that we “evolve “ our viewpoint on marriage like he did, and while we can be punished for disagreeing with them, nothing changes. Marriage is from God! Marriage, like God, will not change regardless of what we say. Simply put, all our words together cannot undo what God defined in one word, and no one word is more powerful than that.

Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH
churchonhigh.wordpress.com

What Does the Bible Say about Profiling?
by: Allen Domelle

My daughter and I went to a sporting goods store a few weeks ago to purchase some sporting goods supplies that I wanted. I was standing at the cash register, and in front of me was a young man approximately in his early 20’s. His hat was on crooked. His pants were hanging down his backside. He had tattoos all up and down his arms and some on his neck. He had long straggly hair, and looked very unkempt. As I waited for him to get done, I heard him ask the cashier for 2 boxes of 9mm ammunition. I immediately looked back at his appearance and thought to myself, what is he going to do with this ammunition? Because of the way he was dressed, my thoughts led me to believe that he probably was not using the ammunition for good. Yes, I profiled this young man.

As bad as some may think this is, I can guarantee that everyone is guilty of profiling. We have heard much about how bad it is to profile someone because of their appearance. I contend that everyone profiles. For instance, any good parent will tell their children to stay away from the “bad side of town.” Hold it, you’re profiling. How often has a parent said, “Don’t let me catch you hanging around that person.” Again, you’re profiling. We profile everyday. When you see a Rottweiler or a Pit Bull running loose on the streets, are you going to let your two-year-old go and pet the dog? Of course not! Hold it, you’re profiling again. When you see young people hanging around a car in gangster clothes, are you quick to go and spend time with them? No, you will go out of your way to avoid them. Again, you’re profiling. We could go on and on with examples of how people profile every day of their life.

The fact is, profiling is a part of human nature. Profiling is the self-preservation part of a human being. God gave that to us to keep us from getting into danger. It is completely impossible to live and not profile. Even those who trumpet that profiling is wrong are guilty of it. The fact of the matter is, that is how we stay out of trouble. Profiling keeps us from hurting ourselves. Profiling keeps a person from getting into a wrong crowd. God gave us the sense to profile so that we won’t get into sin.

Moreover, do you realize that God profiles? Matthew 7:15-17 says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” Judging someone by their fruit is no different than profiling. Look at Luke 6:43-44 which says, “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit.” In other words, God says every time we look at a tree and say that it is a certain fruit, we are profiling that tree. God didn’t stop there. He said just like a tree is known by its fruit, so every person is known by their fruit. The fruit is the clothing of a tree. If the tree doesn’t want to be known as a certain type of tree, then it needs to stop bringing forth that type of fruit.

The answer to profiling is not to chastise people for doing it, but to get people to change the way they dress and live. If you don’t want people to think you’re a bad person, then stop wearing the clothing of those who do bad. If you don’t want people to think you’re in a gang, then stop wearing gang clothing. It’s as simple as that. It’s amazing that people don’t get upset about someone positively profiling them, they only get upset when someone profiles them in a negative manner.

I’ve learned one thing about life, if you don’t dress like you’re doing wrong, then you won’t be profiled as someone who does wrong. I’ve had many people think I worked for the FBI or the police because of the way I dress. The short hair, white shirt and tie is a dead giveaway as a law enforcement officer. I’ve never had someone question the validity of my claim to be a preacher, because I look like a preacher. The reason is because I have dressed in a manner that allows them to profile me in a positive manner.

Furthermore, if you don’t want someone to consider you to be a liberal preacher or Christian, then stop looking and acting like them. If you drop liberal preacher’s names all the time to give credence to what you say, then we are naturally going to profile you as a liberal. If you let down your dress standards and start allowing young people to hold hands and kiss, then we are going to profile that you have compromised. If you start letting the dresses on ladies to be tight, short and trendy, then don’t be surprised when you’re profiled as a compromiser. When you’re music starts sounding like a Country and Western concert in your church services, then don’t be upset with us when we profile you as having gone liberal. When you cancel your Sunday school and Wednesday night services for home groups, then don’t get upset when we profile you as leaving the old-time religion. It’s not our fault, we are only profiling the fruit.

Let me encourage you not to let the politically correct police influence you into their ignorance. Profiling is self-preservation. God gave us that sense to keep us from danger. Instead, dress right, look right, do right and be in the right place and you will never have to worry that someone may be thinking wrong about you.

by: William Wallace

Genesis 26:18-23

You want to talk about being in a bad situation, Isaac was certainly in one. Isaac was dealing with many things in his life. Abraham, his dad had just passed away. It is bad when you lose family, but when you lose those whom you have loved dearly it’s hard to get past it. This is probably one of the last times Isaac and Ishmael will be in union because even in our time the Arab and Jewish nations are at war.

His son, Esau, had despised his Birthright. There was a famine in the land, and God wouldn’t let him run from it. Let me stop here and say this is the problem for many people, both Christians and lost people, as soon as things get a little hard they want to run. He had trouble from his neighbors. They filled his father’s wells with dirt. So, he moved further away into the valley and began uncovering wells that had been filled by his neighbors. He dug another well in the valley, and his neighbors still fought him. To show how frustrated he was, He called that well Esek which means, “contention.” Every time he drank from this well, he had to watch his back. Isaac said to himself, “I can’t live like this.” So, what did he do? He dug another well and his neighbors strove over that one. He called it Sitnah, which means, “enmity, a state of opposition.” Every time he drank from this well he had to have one eye open. Isaac said, “I cant live like this.” So, again he dug another well and called it Rehoboth. He said now the Lord has made room for us. Rehoboth means “room.”

These are some of the troubles Isaac faced in a matter of a short period of time. Usually when people face the pressure of a father passing, trouble with their children, and neighbors fighting over water rights they are uptight, easily agitated and aggressive.

It is also clear that Isaac was the biggest cattle man in the area. Isaac had the Lord’s blessings on his life. He didn’t have to do any fighting, because He knew God was on his side. He had the weight of his dad passing on his shoulders. He had a child involved with wrong girls. He had a famine in the land and God wouldn’t let him move. He had neighbors who stopped up his well and wouldn’t let him keep the new ones he dug. The same neighbors came and lied straight to his face. These were the same folks who made a covenant with his dad. He had the ability to destroy all his enemies, and they acknowledged that; however, he knew God was on his side and that God could do a better job with his enemies than he could. So, instead of getting involved in areas he couldn’t control, he just dug another well.

I know Abraham went after Lot and rescued him and his family. David went after his wives and children and rescued them. God’s people fought against Philistines. There is a time for war and a time to fight, but sometimes it’s just best to dig another well. A well is not worth the lives of people if more wells can be dug.

A well is a very necessary part of life. In certain places there is only well water to sustain a people. But again, sometimes it’s just best to dig another well. Let me give you some thoughts about moving on and digging another well.

     1. Digging another well is not a sign of cowardice, but a sign of compliance.

Romans 12:18-21, God tells the individual to do everything in their power to prevent strife. You are to do everything but compromise to try and get along with those who want to fight against you.

     2. Digging another well is not a sign of compromise.

Isaac didn’t lose any ground by digging another well. He knew God, in His time, was going to give it all to him anyway. You have more things to do for God than to involve yourself in battles that you can’t control. It’s not a sign of compromise not to involve yourself in battles that belong to God. Too many Christians want to fight God’s battles, when they need to move on and let God give them what they need in His timing.

     3. Digging another well is a sign of compassion.

In the great Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said, “Blessed are the peace makers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Never mistake peacemaking only without the shedding of blood. Sometimes peacemaking only comes from shedding blood. We make peace with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. America enjoys a certain level of peace because of the shed blood of American patriots. When you decide to move on from your disagreements with people, you are only revealing your compassion for people knowing that God deals with people better than we do.

     4. Digging another well shows Christian maturity.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Romans 12:17-21 says, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 

When challenged with difficult times, God’s people have the opportunity to exemplify their Lord. If your girlfriend or boyfriend turns their back on you, don’t hurt yourself or them, just move on and dig another well. If you get fired from work and you know it’s not your fault, just move on and dig another well. If you are falsely accused, God knows you are innocent, so just move on and dig another well. If you had your car repossessed, if it is your fault just ask God’s forgiveness, and move on and dig another well. If you will move on and dig another well, eventually you will find Rehoboth. You will find that if you will learn to move on through your adversities and disagreements in life, God will eventually find room for you to make peace and do great works for Him.

William Wallace
Pastor
Central Coast Baptist Church
Marina, CA

by: Allen Domelle

Since when has justice come down to the pigmentation of one’s skin? Since George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges, the response has been astounding to say the least. To be honest, I’m embarrassed as an American of the response of the news media and political leaders alike. We are placing ourselves as a laughing stock to other nations.

Since the verdict, our leadership seemingly is rushing to injustice. They’ve unwisely chosen to make skin color the reason they believe the verdict is wrong. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed this week at the annual NAACP meeting that the Justice Department is “concerned about this case and as we confirmed last spring, the Justice Department has an open investigation into it.” Once a person has been cleared of all charges, the Justice Department has no right to try and change the verdict to get their desired verdict. This is injustice at it’s core!

To make matters worse, President Obama jumped into the rush to injustice by saying he could have been Trayvon Martin. Later on in the same speech he suggested that race had everything to do with the verdict. As President of the United States, his job is not to influence a verdict or give an opinion on verdicts. To make the skin color of a person the whole reason he jumps into the fray of response is unwise at best.

The Scriptures teach in Ezekiel 18:20, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” You will notice that God does not make a difference between the color of the skin. God says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Let me ask you, what color is the soul. Is the soul black, white, yellow, red or brown? According to the Scriptures, it doesn’t matter what the color of the skin is, it is the soul that makes the difference.

God understood that justice does not look at the color of the skin, but justice looks at the actions performed to determine guilt or innocence. Just because racism existed in America in years gone by does not make it right to revive the sins of the past to get a verdict we desire based on the color of one’s skin. The Scriptures teach that the son should not have to bear the iniquity of the father, and neither should the father have to bear the iniquity of the son. In other words, every case should stand or fall on the evidence presented. Just because there was injustice in the past does not mean we should be unjust today.

The greatest travesty of this whole conversation is that people are trying to make a verdict based upon race. Charles Barkley may have said it best when he said he agreed with the verdict. He said that there was clearly not enough evidence to convict George Zimmerman. He continued by saying, “I just feel bad because I don’t like when race gets out in the media ‘cuz I don’t think the media has a ‘pure heart,’ as I call it,” Barkley continued. “There are very few people who have a pure heart when it comes to race. Racism is wrong in any shape [or] form — there are a lot of black people who are racist, too. I think sometimes when people talk about race, they act like only white people are racist. There are a lot of black people who are racist. And I don’t like when it gets out there in the media because I don’t think the media has clean hands.”

Barkley then directed his comments another direction by saying, “The main thing I feel bad for is it gives every white person and black person who’s racist a platform to vent their ignorance,” he said. “That’s the thing that bothered me the most. I watched this trial closely and I watched these people on television talking about it. A lot of these people have a hidden agenda. They want to have their racist views, whether they are white or black…Their biases definitely come out. It was a bad situation. We all lost.”

I agree whole heartedly with these comments. Race should have no part in the discussion. It is foolish, and those who try to use the race card as an issue are rushing to injustice. It’s time that everyone drops the race card and let justice be determined by the actions committed.

The only one who truly knows what happened that night is George Zimmerman. If he is lying, he will not get away with it. The Scriptures teach in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” If Mr. Zimmerman did wrong, then it will eventually catch up to him. If you don’t believe that, then ask O.J. Simpson if this is true. God will make sure justice is served, and be very sure that God looks at the soul and not the pigmentation of the skin.

by: Jason Williams

We hear a lot about freedom these days. Every year we celebrate Independence Day and rejoice in the fact that we as Americans are free. Even as I write this, I am sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan watching boatloads of Americans exercise their freedom as they head out on the lake to celebrate.

But, what is freedom? What do we do with it? Where does it come from? Some would tell you that freedom means being able to do whatever you want. They pass off all irresponsibility with the words, “free nation.” This is not freedom. Someone once said, “Freedom without responsibility, is anarchy.” You see, freedom does not eliminate responsibility, it fosters it. Freedom is simply the right to do what is good for yourself and others without interference.

What should we do with freedom? Currently our government is using their freedom to infringe on ours. Our president has declared that he has the right as leader to take away your freedom to protect you. The Supreme Court has declared that the citizens of America cannot make choices for themselves and therefore they must impose new laws and tell us what is right. This must not be done! Freedom does not mean that you can force your will on those under you and grind them into subjection. This is tyranny! As Americans, we must be able to self-govern, or the term “free” is nothing more than an empty word.

Finally, from where does freedom really come? Can government or the rules they establish make you free? Unfortunately no, freedom cannot be decided by man. God created the idea of freedom, and because He has made us free, no man or group of men can take that freedom away. They can rule our bodies, but through Christ we are free indeed.

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH
churchonhigh.wordpress.com

by: William Tyson

We have all heard the story of the prodigal son. It is a story of selfish decisions and bad friendships, yet it vividly displays the wonderful truths of grace and restoration. While a parable, this story has played out in many families. Young people who forge relationships with the wrong crowd and turn their backs on what they have been taught will always reap what they have sown. Today, many a young person, in rebellion, is in a far country wasting his or her substance on riotous living and breaking the hearts of their parents and those who have invested in their lives.

Today America is a far country. We are wasting our substance on riotous and frivolous living. We are in many ways “a prodigal nation.” How did we get here? How did this all begin? The reality is that the seeds of rebellion have always been present, but this rebellion began to accelerate in the 60’s & 70’s. Attacks from the left and militant atheists began a concerted effort to undermine our liberties. The first amendment became their first target.

There are three landmark cases that changed the meaning of the First amendment as it was previously understood and practiced in America. These cases include Engel vs.Vitale in 1962, the famous Murray vs. Curlett case in 1963, and a lesser known case of Abington Township School District vs. Schempp. All three attacked prayer, Bible reading and religious activity of any sort held in a public school. Incredibly, the National Council of Churches and several Jewish organizations actually favored the Madelyn O’Hair case! Not a single Christian organization, to our shame, filed a brief in support of school prayer, so the case went virtually uncontested before the Court. The Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of abolishing school prayer and Bible reading in the public school.

These three rulings essentially revised the First Amendment, putting restrictions on the people, and not the government!

Since these three landmark decisions, we have seen teen pregnancy rise and teen sexual activity has increased dramatically to the point where the vast majority of teenagers lose their purity before the age of 15.

1 in 6 teenagers have thought about suicide. 1 in 12 have tried to commit suicide…

30,000 commit suicide every year…1.5 million since these rulings.

Violence in our schools and gang activity have both increased.

America has asked for its inheritance and is out spending it’s substance on riotous living.

As a nation we are reaping what we have sown.

In 1973, the Roe vs. Wade case came to the Supreme Court, and on January 22, 1973, abortion for all women was legalized. Since Roe vs. Wade, 56 million abortions have been performed in America. 1.3 billion worldwide since 1980. Many of those paid for with your tax dollars through organizations such as Planned Parenthood which alone this year has already conducted 78,000 abortions.

As a nation we are reaping what we have sown: We are a prodigal Nation.

As of this year, same-sex marriage is legally recognized in several jurisdictions within the United States; as of January 2013, nine states – Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington – as well as the District of Columbia.

We should be reminded that every state can pass laws defining marriage, but God still defines it as between one man and one woman. We are inviting the judgment of God on this nation. We are a prodigal nation away from God.

America’s entertainment has become lewd and lascivious. Hollywood has for many years been pushing an agenda to normalize the gay lifestyle, promote sexually immoral behavior, and to call anyone who stands against such actions as bigoted and hateful. Hollywood has undermined the institution of marriage. There was a time in America when divorce was shameful. There was a time when immoral behavior was hidden, now we call it Reality TV. We are giving up our civil liberties for so called security.

We are a Prodigal Nation.

Psalm 11:3 says, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Today we have a choice. We can throw in the towel. We can throw up our hands, or we can do what I believe our founding fathers did at the founding of this nation. We can fight! We can stand with a vision for what this country can be again.

“If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained _ we must fight!” – Patrick Henry

We have much to admire and love and be thankful for in being able to call America our home; however, our nation is rapidly drifting from its biblical foundations. Our freedom to serve God and to promote the Gospel in our land is disintegrating. We are engaged in a great spiritual battle that threatens our country, our families and our lives.

Only God’s intervention will return America to solid footing and restore a moral nation that righteousness will exalt. The Bible commands us to be salt and light in Matthew 5:13-16. We must take our responsibility seriously. Our responsibility is to put God first, not only in our homes, but also in our national affairs.

America is in trouble. We are a prodigal nation. What shall we do? What is our call to action?

          1. We must pray.

James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

More important than starting a voter registration drive, and more important than debating your adversary is getting alone with God and asking Him to stay His hand of judgment; asking God to bless America once again. Our founding fathers knew the power and purpose of prayer. From our nations beginning through times of war and tragedy, we have been called to pray that the hand of Almighty God might show forth His mercy and intervene with His grace towards America.

Today is no different.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray , and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We need to understand that God does not see souls as Republicans or Democrats. He sees mankind as lost or saved. The answer for America is not Conservatism. The answer for America is not on Fox News or talk radio. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity don’t have the answer. What this nation is longing for and searching for is to fill the void that only Jesus Christ can fill. Jesus Christ is the answer! The Gospel is what will bring this prodigal back to God!

         2. We must participate.

Participating within the process for change is the ultimate key to its success. It is futile to gripe and complain about what one considers wrong or unjust in our land, and not participate in the process of changing it for the better. The Scriptures are clear, James 4:17 says, “…therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” 

What we need is for God’s people to step up and participate. Participate in preaching the Gospel. Participate in the public forum. Participate in the political process. God’s calling to the ministry is the greatest calling, but not everyone is called to preach. Perhaps God would have you be our next congressman, senator or president. How would that change America? Grab your Bible and your Constitution and get involved!

          3. We must persevere.

When fighting for right, we must never cease until we prevail. It’s about time God’s people make the decision – I refuse to give up, I refuse to give in and I refuse to quit, for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

We are fighting for that which is right, therefore we must never cease to fight the good fight, as Paul did, until we prevail. The battle is not always won by the smartest or strongest, but rather comes to those who persevere. We know from Scripture, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) We must be reminded that all the resources of the Creator are available to us. May we access this power and persevere!

Keep the faith Christian! This generation is dependent on you. This Prodigal nation needs to come home! Pray, participate and persevere!

William Tyson
Pastor
Woodlawn Baptist Church
Bowie, MD

By: Emily Carstens & Joshua Rarrick

This year’s teen convention at Longview Baptist Temple may very well be the catalyst of something big for Christians across the nation. Young people and youth workers from across the nation were in attendance, and for many of them, their lives will never be the same again.

With hard preaching, encouraging music, and a theme of being a prisoner of the Lord, the conviction throughout the week was heavy. Many decisions to follow Christ and become more holy were made, as well as 13 young men standing up and committing themselves to become men of God.

The youth of today is the leadership of tomorrow, and Teen Convention 2013 has definitely given these future leaders a strong base to build on. With youth workers, church members, and teenagers all in attendance, God moved upon hearts and worked in the lives of hundreds of young people this past week.

Emily Carstens has a recap of the messages for us, detailing some of what was heard by the youth groups from as far away as Georgia and Kansas this week:

From the first song to the last “Amen,” God was moving the whole week of Teen Conviction 2013. The week was full of powerful sermons affecting not only the teenagers, but also youth workers and LBT church members. Every sermon helped to reinforce the theme of the week that being a prisoner of the Lord is the greatest decision a person can make.

Monday night, “Bro. Bob,” as he asked to be called throughout the week, spoke on, “There Arose a Generation Who Knew not the Lord.” In it, he emphasized that if the teenagers wanted the generations following them to know about Jesus Christ, then it was up to them.

On Tuesday morning, Bro. Domelle built on Bro. Bob’s sermon from the night before with his sermon, “Changing Your World.” He drove home the fact that changing the world will only come about by changing your own world. Tuesday night, Bro. Bob preached a moving sermon on, “What does your Donkey see?” He drew an analogy between how Baalam acted toward his donkey and how a teenager acts toward their leaders and parents. This particular sermon led many people to make things right with their parents and leaders. A few teenagers even left during the sermon to make things right.

Wednesday morning, Bro. Ortiz preached a sermon on, “The Call of a Man of God.” He gave his testimony about his call to the ministry and encouraged the young men to answer the call. Thirteen young men answered that call and surrendered to be a man of God.

Wednesday night, Bro. Bob preached one last sermon, “My Spirit shall not always strive with Man.” He elaborated that the Spirit will strive for someone to get saved and for someone to get right. He pleaded with the teenagers to heed to the Spirit before it is too late. As a result of this powerful sermon, approximately ten people trusted Christ as their personal Saviour and many more heeded to the Spirit’s striving to get right.

Thursday morning which came all too quickly finished out the week with Dr. Bob Gray, Sr. delivering his sermon entitled, “Let Baal speak for Baal.” Dr. Gray illustrated that many children of God, instead of commending people for getting rid of worldly things from their life will go on a crusade for those same things. Dr. Gray charged the teenagers to back up their fellow teens in decisions they make for God and to let the things of this world speak for themselves.

The entire week was a life-changing experience for many people. People trusted Christ for salvation, surrendered to God’s call, and simply made decisions to become a prisoner of the Lord rather than of the world. Please pray for everyone, as they are now back home, that they will keep to their decisions and continue growing in the Lord.