You won’t find much about Thomas in the other Gospel narratives.  I believe that the reason that John gave us a closer look at Thomas was because he knew that people would have doubts.  After all, the people who would read his Gospel account would have never seen Jesus.  They will only have heard and read about Him.  It was for certain that people would have doubts.  So John addressed those doubts by sharing the story of “Doubting Thomas” in John 20:24-29.

On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, there was plenty of evidence to support His resurrection.  There were angels appearing and testifying that Jesus had been raised from the dead. There was the stone being rolled away and the empty tomb.  There was firsthand testimony from other disciples that Jesus was alive and well.  In spite of all this evidence, Thomas still had doubts.
 
But Jesus didn’t just dismiss Thomas or reject Him because of doubt. Instead, He went out of His way to make a special appearance just for Thomas.  God wants you to know that He cares about the doubts that you may have in your heart and mind.

The number of disciples was down to 11, so what was one more?  The other 10 believed.  Ten is a good number to work with.  Jesus could have said, “This is Thomas’ problem, the rest of you follow me” and then carried on without Thomas.  But that is not what Jesus did.  Jesus did not cast Thomas out because he doubted.  Instead, He came to Thomas with compassion, mercy and grace.
 
He didn’t need Thomas.  He wanted Thomas because He loved Thomas.  Jesus didn’t reject Thomas because he doubted and He won’t reject you when you doubt.  When you have doubts don’t be afraid to go to Jesus with those doubts.  When you do, you will find the same measure of grace, mercy, compassion and love that Jesus showed to Thomas.

These are your Words for Wednesday.  It has been a pleasure!  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

I have made the difficult decision to discontinue “Words for Wednesday”.  So next Wednesday, April 30th will be the last one.  I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read these posts.

Years ago when Sonya and I surrendered to the ministry, we put our house on the market and sold it ourselves.  One trick that we learned from a realtor friend was to change all of our light bulbs from 60 watt to 75 watt.  The idea was that it would make a room feel brighter, warmer, and more attractive.  I don’t know if it really helped us sell our house, but it did brighten each room.

In John chapter 20, John shares his own personal experience of how the light came on for him.  He used an interesting play on words by to describe his own journey to faith.  From the time that Jesus called John to be His disciple, John believed in Jesus.  The light was on, but it was dimly lit.  His faith was shallow.  But on that first day of the week, John’s faith brightened.

Let me show you what I mean.  When John came to the empty tomb, he stopped at the entrance and didn’t go in at first. This is what John said about his own experience, “and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.” (John 20:5).
 
The word “saw” is the Greek word “blepo” which means “to see with your physical eyes.”  John saw that the stone had been rolled away; he saw the graveclothes; and he saw that the tomb was empty.  However, while He understood what he was seeing, he didn’t understand what it all meant.

Then in verse 8, John wrote, “So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.”  The word “saw” in this sentence is an entirely different Greek word.  It is the word “horao” and it means “to see with your eyes and understand with your mind.”  Because of that, it says that he now believed.  What made the difference?

When John first approached the tomb, he stayed at the threshold.  But when John entered the tomb, he saw and believed.  The difference came when John investigated the evidence for himself.  It was then that John fully grasped what Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection meant.  A light was already “on” but it suddenly became much brighter because He experienced it for himself.
 
In your life, are just taking what other people tell you about Jesus or are you continually investigating Him for yourself?  If you want to deepen your faith, then get deeper into the Word of God and examine it for yourself.  You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find.  The light may have already come on for you, but digging deeper into the evidence found in God’s Word will be like switching from a 60 watt bulb to a 75 watt bulb.

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

Whenever God repeats something in His Word, I think it is important that we pay attention to it.  During the Last Supper, after Judas left the upper room, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34).
 
In John chapter 15, we find that Jesus has led the disciples out of the upper room and began the long walk to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Along the way, Jesus repeated His command from the upper room as He said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)  He then elaborates on this by giving them an example of “loving like He loves” as He said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

This is not “love your neighbor” kind of love.  This love calls us to a higher standard.  It has a much deeper cost.  Laying your life down means profound sacrifice and Jesus is calling us to do that, not for our neighbors, but for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
 
That kind of love gets the attention of the world and creates inside of a lost and dying world a realization that this kind of love cannot be experienced outside of Christ.  It creates a hunger for this love that can only be satisfied in Christ.  Is it any wonder that Jesus said this command twice?  It is a command worth repeating.  It is a command worth obeying.

These are your Words for Wednesday.  As we approach Resurrection Sunday, take time to contemplate how much Jesus loves you to have taken your place on the cross.  Then think about how you can share that same love with a brother or sister in Christ.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

There is an old story about a man who hiking alone up a cliff on the side of a mountain when he lost his footing and fell.  Fortunately, there was the root of a tree sticking out from the cliff and he was able to grab it and hold onto it.  As he was hanging there, he called out for help but there was no one to help him.  So He called out to God and said, “God please help me!”  A voice responded back and said, “Do you believe in me?”  The man yelled back, “Yes!  I believe in you!”  The voice replied, “Then let go of the root and I’ll catch you.”

The man paused for a minute and yelled out, “Is there anyone else up there?”

In John chapter 11, we find Jesus at Mary and Martha’s home.  Their brother Lazarus had been dead and in a tomb for 4 days.  In speaking to Jesus, Martha was angry with Jesus and practically blamed Him for Lazarus’ death saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus began to talk with her about the resurrection and stated unequivocally, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).  Martha replies “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”  It seemed that her faith was solid and that Jesus had put on her on solid ground.

However, when Jesus approached Lazarus’ tomb and asked for the stone that was covering its entrance to be rolled away, she had a very telling response.  “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”  He asked her to perform a simple act but her “common sense” got in her way.  Martha wasn’t wrong in what she said.  A dead body sitting around for 4 days is bound to smell awful no matter how much fragrant oil and perfume you put on it.  But Martha had jumped back into unbelief.

What Jesus asked her to do went against her common sense and she froze in inaction.  But when Jesus hit her with the truth of His Word, she came to her senses and complied.

 Because she put away her so-called “common sense”, she experienced the incredible power of God.

It is amazing how much like Martha that each of us can be.  When God asks us to do something that goes against what we consider to be “common sense”, just like Martha, we quickly jump back into unbelief and freeze in our faith.

I have known missionaries who were being called by the Holy Spirit to the foreign mission field hesitate to go because their strong Bible-believing Christian parents refused to give their consent because they felt it should be “someone else’s child” who should go.  I have known fellow Pastors whose fathers didn’t understand why their son would quit a perfectly good paying job to pack up his family and move to seminary to become a preacher of the Gospel.  I have seen people who were going to give away a car to someone suddenly change their mind because they found out the car was worth more money than they originally thought.  Each of these instances went against their “common sense” so they didn’t act upon the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Just like Martha, if we will dig into the Word of God and bury it deep within our hearts, His truth will silence our so-called “common sense”.  When we act on what He has lead us to do, the results can be incredible!

By the way, one set of those Bible believing Christian parents who refused to consent to their daughter going to the foreign field were confronted by the Word of God a few weeks later.  Confronted with God’s Truth.  They gave their blessing.  That young lady and her husband have since been fruitful missionaries to Northern Africa for over 20 years now.  That mother drew closer to her daughter than she could have ever imagined.  Both the mother and the father have seen God do amazing things through her.

When God leads you to do something that goes against your so-called “common sense”, you might want to go ahead and act.  You never know what incredibly supernatural event you just might experience.

These are your Words for Wednesday.

This Sunday we will have a Virtual Egg Hunt for the Ballentine Subdivision. We need everyone to be at the Ballentine Subdivision Swimming Pool parking lot at 3:30. The event will end promptly at 5:30. Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

When my brother, Darren, was a teenager, he went on a mission trip to Haiti with my Mom and Dad and several other people from our church.  At the airport at Port Au Prince, they were picking up their luggage and Darren somehow followed the wrong crowd of people and ended up outside of the airport.  Realizing his mistake, he tried to re-enter only to be surrounded by armed soldiers.  My Dad tried desperately to reach him, but the soldiers pushed him back.  The interpreter interceded and was able to negotiate a safe return of my brother back with my parents.  My brother almost ended up in a mess!

After miraculously healing over 5,000 people, Jesus was in Capernaum teaching that He was the Bread of Life.  As the Bread of Life, He is the source of life.  Just as bread provides nutrients for our physical bodies, Jesus nourishes us spiritually.
Jesus was speaking metaphorically when He stated that just as food had to be eaten for life, so must He be eaten.  He was talking about spiritual hunger not physical hunger.  But it was too much for most of the people who followed Him and they simply walked away.

In our lives, we can become distracted by the world’s offerings.  Trying to get t
hat promotion at work; working our fingers to the bone so that we can have a great retirement; or pursuing the latest new car or new gadget.  When this happens, we can find ourselves walking away from Jesus.
 
John 6:27 Jesus said, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
 
Jesus came to give us abundant and eternal life.  It doesn’t come in the form of wealth or possessions but in contentment, peace, forgiveness, mercy and love.  This is all free by simply believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and sticking as close as we can to the source of life.
 
When we spend time in prayer, reading and reflecting on His Word, and telling others about Him, we draw closer and closer to Him.  When we pursue “the food that perishes”, we can become like a distracted teenager following the wrong crowd wondering how we ended up in such a mess.

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
Please remember our Virtual Egg Hunt outreach to the Ballentine neighborhood on Sunday, April 13 at 3:30 at the Ballentine Swimming pool parking lot. Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

As you read the Gospel of John, you can see that the teachings of Jesus were profound and mind blowing.  At the death of Lazarus, Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26).  He said to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).  
 
In addition, the miracles of Jesus were incredible, spectacular, amazing, astounding and, at the risk of sounding redundant, miraculous!  Jesus healed people of leprosy, an issue of blood, and a withered hand.  He caused the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the mute to speak.  He fed thousands with a few loaves and fish; He cast out demons; He calmed a raging storm; He walked on water; and He raised the dead!  No one before or since has done the things that Jesus did.  But what was it all for? How can these affect us today?

With the religious leader Nicodemus, Jesus demonstrated patience and long suffering.  Jesus healed a man who had blind since birth (see John 9).  In John 4, He showed compassion to the woman at the well and brought emotional healing to her.  At the death of Lazarus, He demonstrated God’s comfort in the midst of grief.
 
Every miracle and teaching showed God’s incredibly deep love for us.  But if Jesus wasn’t God, then all of His miracles just showed that Jesus was a kind and thoughtful man.  But His miracles actually did so much more.

Jesus said in John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”  So the miracles show that God the Father sent Him.  But there is more.
 
In John 10:25, Jesus said, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.”  Again, in John 10:37-38, “… If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”  Yet again, He said in John 14:11, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

Jesus stated unequivocally that He and the Father are one.  Inseparable.  Two distinct persons yet co-existent. All the works that Jesus performed were to show the people of that day and to show us today that Jesus is the Son of God and that Jesus and the Father are one.  Jesus is God!

Jesus' miracles demonstrated his great compassion for people.  He didn’t just heal their diseases, but He lifted their burdens and met their deepest needs.  His miracles demonstrated God's love in a powerful way.  It was also to show us that Jesus is God.  Because He is God, if we will place our complete faith in Him, we can have the eternal life that He promised.

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
We have an outreach scheduled for Sunday, April 13 for our Virtual Egg Hunt at the parking lot of the Ballentine Subdivision swimming pool. We need volunteers to paint faces, help set up, engage people in conversation, and give out prizes. Be there at 3:30. Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

A few years ago there was a humorous meme floating around the internet of a picture of an electrical panel.  In front of the electrical panel were two burned spots on the floor in the shape of footprints.  Evidently the electrician elocuted himself.  The caption read, “Help wanted!  This time, experience required.”  This was a joke, of course, but it has a note of truth as there is nothing like experience.

In John chapter 4, we find Jesus sitting at a well in Samaria in the heat of the day.  He encountered a woman who had come to the well to draw water.  She had experienced several broken marriages and was currently living with a man who wasn’t her husband.  After meeting Jesus, her life was changed forever.  She was so excited that she left her water pot behind and ran into the city to tell others about Jesus.

As a result of her testimony, many people in her city came to faith in Jesus.  Many more came to the well to meet Jesus and invited Him to stay with them for two more days.  Jesus agreed and stayed in the city and taught the people.  The result was that many more people came to believe in Jesus.
 
I love what they told the woman that had testified about Jesus in John 4:41-42, “Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.’”   Did you catch that?  They said, “we have heard for ourselves” meaning that they didn’t simply believe based on someone else’s testimony, they believed based on their own experience with Jesus.

There is nothing more powerful than experiencing the love and forgiveness of Jesus.  But it is not something that people can just tell you about.  You must experience it yourself.  There is nothing like experience!

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
Remember that this Saturday morning at 10:00 we will meet at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church to pack 15,000 meals with an organization called Feed the Hunger. They will train us and provide us with everything that we need, all you have to do is show up. If we have a good turnout, it should only take a couple of hours. Bring a friend or family member, too. It's the most fun that you can have in a hair net! Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

The last words of the Old Testament speak of a prophet who will appear and prepare the way for the Messiah to come.  These words are found in Malachi 4:5-6 which state, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”  After that, there was 400 years of silence.  No prophets prophesying.  Only silence from God as the Greeks and then the Romans took control of Israel.

After that long silence, a man appears in the countryside going from village to village preaching.  He preached repentance because God was sending the Messiah.  He was weirdly dressed as he was covered with animal skin and ate locusts and honey.  He preached with power and authority and people responded in droves.  His name was John the Baptist.
 
Thousands came to hear John and were baptized.  Then one day in that large crowd gathered on the banks of the Jordan River, a very unique man appeared.  In this man’s face John saw something he had never seen in another person’s countenance.  As John stood in the water baptizing people who were repenting of their sin, this unique man approached John to be baptized.  John knew right away that this man had to be the one that he was preparing the way for.  John said to Him, “I should be baptized by you yet you come to me?”  This man had nothing of which to repent.  He had no need to be baptized at all.  Yet, he told John, “Permit it this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.”  So John baptized Him.  His name was Jesus.

If He had no need to repent, why was He baptized?  There are numerous reasons but I believe that we find one of our answers in what Jesus said when He told John, “in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”.  

By being baptized, Jesus was beginning the process of being counted with us so that He could redeem us.  The prophet Isaiah had prophesied 700 years before that the Messiah would be “numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).  That verse was not just a prophecy about the death of the Messiah being crucified between two thieves.  It was also about His life and the beginning of His public ministry.
 
When John baptized Jesus, I believe that they were fulfilling that Scripture because now Jesus was truly counted with us.  Jesus stood on the bank of the Jordan with thousands of sinners who entered the waters to be baptized.  Just like them, Jesus willingly stepped into the water and became counted just like one of them.

He who was above all and Lord of all, took on our afflictions.  He took on our transgressions.  By being baptized, He was counted as one of us.  He took on our iniquities and eventually carried them all the way up a hill called Golgotha where He nailed them to a cross.  As John boldly proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”    

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

The word “Trinity” is not found anywhere in the Bible. However, it is found everywhere in the Bible.  From beginning to end, all three are mentioned individually, as a couple, and all three at one time.  Individual persons but one God.  Equal in divinity.  That is the Trinity.

The word “Trinity” is just a simple one word explanation of stating 4 sentences:
1)    God is one
2)    The Father is God
3)    The Son is God
4)    The Spirit is God

The Father is not the Son.  The Spirit is not the Father.  The Son is not the Father.  The Son is not the Spirit. Three equal personages.  Equal in divinity.  Individual personalities and individual roles with equal status.
 
In Genesis, God is identified as creating the heavens and the earth but then it says in verse 2, “…the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”  The Gospel of John begins chapter 1 verse 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  In the absence of the Son, we see the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”  We see all three throughout the book of Revelation.

In the books of the Prophets, it gets even more interesting as we often see the Lord talking about Himself to Himself.  For instance, in Isaiah 48, God said through the Prophet, “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Surely My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand together.”  There is not doubt that this is the Lord God of Israel speaking.
 
Then listen to what He says in verse 16, “Come near to Me, listen to this: from the first I have not spoken in secret, from the time it took place, I was there.  And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”  Again, it is obvious that it is God who is speaking.

But hold the phone!  If God is speaking, then who are “the Lord Gᴏᴅ” and “His Spirit” and “Me”? More confusing still is the fact the Lord God and the Holy Spirit sent the One who is called the First and the Last—the One who laid the foundation of the earth.

Clearly, all three of these entities are God. Isaiah unveiled all three Persons of the Trinity: “the Lord Gᴏᴅ,” referring to the Father; “His Spirit,” referring to the Holy Spirit; and “Me,” referring to the speaker, who later identifies Himself as the “Redeemer” (v. 17). Thus the speaker is the Messiah.

It is important for us to have a good understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity.  It helps us to accomplish our mission.  Just as the Father sent the Son and the Son sent the Spirit, so we see our own Great Commission as a continuation of the Trinity’s mission in the world.
 
It also helps us to more rightly worship Him.  The more we come to know about Him, the more deeply we can treasure Him and the more fully we can worship Him. As we grow deeper in that understanding, the more passionately we can join Him in His work throughout the world.  The doctrine of the Trinity is difficult to grasp but it is everywhere in the Bible.

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
Please remember that we are teaming up with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church on Saturday, March 22 at 10:00 am in their fellowship hall to pack 15,000 meals for our Feed the Hunger campaign. This is a great opportunity to invite a friend! It's the most fun that you can have in a hairnet! Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

I remember going fishing with my Dad when I was younger.  We were at a reservoir that rented boats and my Dad took me out on the lake.  We fished several different places and we didn’t even get a nibble.  After a couple of hours, I became very frustrated.  My Dad turned to me and said, “Well now we can really start fishing since now we know where the fish aren’t.”  His positive attitude changed my attitude, and my frustration turned into determination.   I caught my first bass that day.

Attitude can make all the difference in the world in the way that you serve and love.  An attitude is a choice that you make.  You can either decide to be positive or you can be negative.  That is why the Apostle Paul pointed to our perfect example Jesus for the type of attitude that we should carry each day.

In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul wrote, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Even though Jesus is God, He did not hold onto that position but humbled Himself to come down to earth to die on a cross for your sins and mine.  He didn’t come as a demi-god and expect people to bow down before Him.  Instead, “that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
 
Jesus’ thoughts weren’t on what He was giving up but on what He would gain in the redeemed lives of people that He would save.  As the writer of Hebrews wrote, “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).

In Paul’s final words in his letter to the Philippians, he wrote “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Whether positive or negative, your attitude is infectious.  That infection starts in your mind and affects your words, your actions, and your behavior.  Your words, actions and behavior will ultimately have a positive or negative effect on those around you.

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
After worship service this past Sunday, there was a little girl selling Girl Scout Cookies at the entryway of the Ballentine subdivision. I stopped, bought some cookies and asked if she planned to be there this Sunday. She said she probably would be. If she is, I want to encourage you to stop and buy a box of cookies and show the love of Jesus to her in a practical way. Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin

It was a great pleasure to have Pastor John McGuire preach this past Sunday and continue our sermon series on “Labor of Love”.  I would like to reiterate something that he said in that message.

A rare Greek word for love is “agapeo” which refers to a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. The New Testament frequently uses it to explain God's love for people as well as the love that believers are expected to have for God and each other. This kind of love is exemplified by a devotion to the welfare of others, without expecting anything in return.
When used in a positive way, like how God loves us and wants us to love one another, this kind of love promotes a deeper relationship with God, personal growth, and stronger relationships within the community.

But there is a negative use of this word and this occurs when the target of our love falls on anything other than God and people.  In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was.  He replied in verses 37-40 by stating, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  What He was saying was that every law of God is either kept or broken by keeping these two basic laws.  When we don’t love with a self-sacrificing “agapeo” love, we sin because we are breaking every other law.  The object of our love must fall in two places:  God and others.
 
Jesus used this kind of love to describe the Pharisees.  In Luke 11:43 He said, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.”  Rather than pursuing God and loving the people of Israel, they put their mind and hearts into prideful lusts such as the best seats so that others will glorify them. They sought out the approval of men rather than God’s.

We do the same things.  Sacrificing to buy a nicer car so that you can have the best and earn the praises of your neighbors. Always buying the newest and best fashions so that others can look at you with envy.  Getting even with someone who hurt us.  These are all negative aspects of love.

As believers, we must be careful that our love is not misdirected.  We must question our motivation for our behavior.  As you make decisions in your life, ponder this:  Am I doing this to love God or others or am I simply doing this to glorify myself?

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

Back in the 1970’s, a large company had purchased around 100 state of the art electric typewriters.  A few weeks after purchasing them, a thunderstorm came up in the middle of a working day.  The building was struck by lightning and every single one of those brand new electric typewriters was fried.  It took weeks to replace them and productivity at the company slowed down to a snails pace.

One Friday afternoon after the typewriters had been replaced with new ones, another large thunderstorm came up.  This time, the manager of the company ordered all of the typewriters to be unplugged and he sent all of the employees home.
 
When they returned on Monday, not one single electric typewriter worked.  Thinking that lightning had struck again, a repairman was called to look into the mystery.  The office was unproductive for several hours waiting for the repairman to arrive.  When he arrived, he quickly discovered that the reason none of the electric typewriters functioned was simply because they had not bothered to plug them back in.

In the Apostle John’s first letter of 1 John, he used the word “walk” to refer to a consistent and routine way a person operates.  John explained this in 1 John 1:7, “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

The “Light” is God’s Truth and so John is saying that we are to consistently and routinely apply God’s Truth to our lives.  When we consistently and routinely do this, we can experience a deep and intimate fellowship with other believers and find forgiveness of our sins.  Serving becomes easier and loving becomes deeper.  When we don’t apply God’s Truth to our lives, we become no different than an unplugged electric typewriter.
These are your Words for Wednesday.

This past Sunday, I challenged the church body to make a list of 6 people to intentionally love in some practical way and then choose one person per day from your list. I hope that you have been able to follow through with this and if you have not, I encourage you to do so. Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

The warm weather this week has reminded me of summer and trips to the beach.  I love the nighttime on the beach when people shoot fireworks over the ocean.  I love the way that they rocket way up into the night sky and plummet to earth leaving a fiery trail.  When they hit the water, they disappear.  The vastness of God’s great love is like the ocean that extinguishes the flames of our wrongdoings.

1 Corinthians 13:5 says that love “does not take into account a wrong suffered”.  The phrase “does not take into account” is one word in the Greek that means “to impute” or “to charge”.  It is like a ledger or a list that tracks transactions or, as in this case, wrongdoings.  Love doesn’t keep a list.

Do you know who else doesn’t keep a list of the wrongdoings of a believer?  God.  2 Corinthians 5:19 states, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them”.  In other words, when you come to faith in Christ, God doesn’t keep a list of your sin.  That is the way that God loves, and He wants us to love that way as well.

The way to have that kind of love is by continually developing your relationship with God through prayer, studying His Word, and serving others.  Praying connects you with the heart of God each day.  Studying His Word helps you to know Him more deeply.  Serving others can humble you and opens your eyes to the love that God has for this world.  

Are you keeping a record of the wrongs that you have suffered?  Do you truly like doing that?  Do you really want to live like that?   I know for certain that God doesn’t want you to live like that.  God wants you to become the type of Christian who loves like Christ. He wants you to drown all the wrongdoing in a sea of love, just like the ocean does to fireworks.

These are your Words for Wednesday.

We will be having a "Feed the Hunger Event" at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church on Saturday, March 22 at 11:00 am. Please make plans to be there as we serve together to package 15,000 meals! Have a great rest of your week.

In Christ,
Kevin   

As we continue to look at what it means to serve others, think for a moment of the most disgusting person who has hurt you the worst.  The person may have betrayed you.  They may have damaged you morally, emotionally or physically.   Now listen to what Jesus told us in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus is being tested by a Lawyer.  In that culture, a lawyer was an expert in the laws laid out in Scripture and the interpretive teachings of the rabbis over the centuries.  The lawyer began by asking Jesus, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life.”  In other words, what must I do to be saved or enter into your Kingdom?  Jesus asked him what his interpretation of the law was.  The man stated, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus said that he was correct.  Then the lawyer asked another question, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus told him a parable about a man who has been robbed, stripped of his clothing, beaten almost to death, and left to die on the side of the road.  Two of his fellow countrymen, who were religious leaders, saw him.  Those two religious leaders, a priest and a Levite, probably felt sorry for the man but the Levitical law stated they had to avoid anyone deemed unclean.  This man, left bleeding and near death, fit the category of being unclean.  If they rendered assistance, they too would be unclean and could not perform their ceremonial duties in the temple until they went through the process of being cleansed.  So they passed by him on the other side of the road.

Then a Samaritan came by.  Samaritans only believed in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).  They strongly believed in a literal interpretation of the law, much like the priest and Levite.  So Samaritans would have deemed the man who was robbed to be unclean too.
In addition, Samaritans and Jews hated each other.  They both risked their lives when traveling through the others territory.  Nevertheless, in spite of his upbringing of a strict literal interpretation of the Torah and in spite of the man who was robbed being a Jew, the Samaritan stopped and rendered aid to that beaten man.  To serve him, it cost him personally of his time, his resources, and his money.

When Jesus asked the Lawyer who was a neighbor to that half dead man, the Lawyer responded, “the one who showed mercy”.  Jesus simply responded, “Go and do likewise.”

 What Jesus was saying was, “Go be a good neighbor by loving your enemy.  Do something good to that person that you despise and despises you.”

How often do we think it is our right to bear a grudge against someone who has hurt us.

 I’m not trying to excuse their behavior nor am I suggesting that you should either.  But that doesn’t mean that we are not to do something good for them.  Serve them in some meaningful way because the whole point of what Jesus is saying is that if you want to be in His Kingdom, you have to love your enemy.  

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

In 1 Peter 4:7, we are reminded that Jesus is coming soon as Peter wrote, “The end of all things is near…”.  The signs of His Second Coming are all around us.

His imminent return is not a reason to panic or be anxious.  Instead, it should give us a sense of urgency to serve God even more today than we did yesterday.  That is why Peter stated in that same verse, “…therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”  He is saying remain calm and don’t be frenzied so that you can pray earnestly.

When we stay calm and watchful, we are able to pray as we ought.  Prayer has a way of reminding us of who is in control.  When we understand that God is in control, it changes our perspective and our attitude.

When our perspective and attitude is focused on the Lord, then we are able to follow Peter’s next commands in verses 8-10, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  Love one another; be hospitable to one another; and serve one another.

Take a look around you and ask the Lord what can you do to share the love of Jesus in a practical way?  Maybe it is to take soup to a sick neighbor.  Maybe it’s blowing leaves out of someone’s yard.  Perhaps it is simply taking the time to pray for someone and let them know that you are praying for them.  Maybe it is just to invite someone over for dinner.
 
Whatever form your service takes, remember Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”.  While we await His return, let us follow His commands “so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11(b)).

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

When it comes to serving, have you ever thought of yourself as useless?  Maybe you see your circumstances as an obstacle to being able to serve God.  Maybe it’s your health, your age, or maybe you just have a low opinion of yourself in which you think of yourself as lacking in talent or ability.  Whatever the case may be, there are none that useless to God.

At the age of nine, Walt Davis became totally paralyzed by polio and could not walk for 3 years.  But Walt did not allow this obstacle to stand in his way.  In 1952, Walt Davis became the Olympic high jump champion.

A young boy born to German immigrants tried to play baseball with the kids who lived in his neighborhood.  But he was so awkward that the neighborhood boys wouldn’t let him play with them.  But he did not give up.  Instead, he worked on his skills and became better than the boys in his neighborhood.  He would eventually garner the attention of the New York Yankees, play 17 seasons with them, and become a legendary Hall of Famer.  His name was Lou Gehrig.

As we learned this past Sunday, a thief and runaway slave named Onesimus came to Rome seeking freedom and found true freedom in Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul described him as his “beloved brother” and, in Philemon 1:12, wrote “I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.”  According to church tradition, Onesimus would eventually become the bishop of the church in Ephesus.
 
Serving God takes more shapes and sizes than we could ever imagine.  Praying, encouraging, or even just showing up in support of others are just a few ways that God can use you.  No matter how difficult or constricting your circumstances may be, God is not hindered by them. As long as you seek His will and obey Him, He can and will continue to utilize you.  No one is useless to God!

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

For the next several weeks, we are stressing the importance of Serving and Loving our Community and God in 2025. It is our hope that through the sermons and W4W you will be motivated to step your acts of service over the coming year. To kick it off, Kim Mayes has written this week's Words for Wednesday. Enjoy!

How’s My Heart?

A very long time ago, the sixteen year old young man who now towers over me in height with his deep voice and his car keys, was just a little fellow with missing front teeth and a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.  That little boy was working diligently to learn memory verses for AWANA’s and as a result, so was I.  I vividly remember helping him learn Philippians 2:14-15 which reads “Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”  His favorite part of that verse was at the very end, “like stars in the sky,” which he said with great inflection in his voice and a big grin on his face.  That verse is planted in my heart, and the Lord brought it to my mind as I have pondered what it means to serve.

When I examine my own life looking for ways I serve others it’s easy to list things like serving with Love Bugs and volunteering for Operation Christmas Child, but if I dig a little deeper, there are some other, not so obvious and fun, avenues of service.  These acts of service can seem never-ending, monotonous, and down right difficult, and if I’m not careful, they can bring out less than desirable attitudes.
 
How many times do I catch myself grumbling over what seems like a kitchen full of dirty dishes, or the mountain of laundry that in year’s past has seemed to only grow in size rather than shrink.  Dinner time happens every single day, and there are meals to plan, shop for and prepare.  How about yard work? In the spring and the fall when the weather is just right there’s much less grumbling than those sweltering days in July and August when I can’t keep the sweat out of my eyes.  A conversation with a good friend several years ago helped me see that putting a good meal on the table and taking care of our home and the things in it are all ways I serve those closest to me.

So often I forget to stop and check myself to make sure I’m serving with my heart in the right place.  Ultimately, serving comes down to acts of love, which is defined in 1 Corinthians 13. Verses 4 and 5 from that passage read, “Love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.”
 
The passage in 1 Corinthians, as well as the verses in Philippians, serve as a checklist to measure the condition of my heart.  Am I grumbling as I’m washing the dishes late at night or do I do it with gladness?  Am I resentful as I’m taking out the trash?  Am I boastful or is my heart full of pride when I talk of helping with Operation Christmas Child?  Am I envious of the task given to a friend, or am I content in my own? Am I patient when I help my mom…
I’m so grateful God gives me grace when I grumble and when I’m just going through the motions.  I’m thankful He’s a God of second, and third, and many more chances.  Today, and every day, it is my prayer that I get it right in His eyes, serving not only with my hands and my feet, but also with my heart.

These are your Words for Wednesday! Have the best day!

In His love,
Kim 

This week our Words for Wednesday was written by our guest author, Mikal Duncan. Happy New Year! Enjoy!

Happy New Year! It’s 2025! Are you thinking about making some new year’s resolutions? According to Pew Research data, three in ten Americans made at least one resolution last January. They reportedly focused on self-improvement: their health, finances, personal interests, and careers. That’s a lot of self-improvements!

But are resolutions really a good way to pursue better habits and goals? Drive Research reports that "92% of adults will not follow through on a resolution." And "23% of adults quit their New Year's goals by the end of the first week of January."

So, why aren’t resolutions very useful or even effective. Maybe the focus is all wrong. Maybe the fresh new year ahead of us isn’t about us at all! Have we already forgotten what we learned from the manger this past Christmas?

The manger should have humbled us and taught us that our focus should not be on ourselves but on the One who came to rescue us by being born in that manger. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45; Matthew 20:28)

So, what should we do? Certainly, a new year’s resolution isn’t the answer. The answer is given multiple times, repeated word-for-word, throughout the Bible: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8. And when something is repeated that many times in God’s word, we know it’s important.

What is the answer? Jesus himself gave the answer in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Keeping these two commandments satisfies all the law and the Ten Commandments. While the “greatest commandment” deals with the relationship between you and God, the second commandment deals with the relationship between you and everyone else (AKA, “your neighbor”). James 2:8 calls the command to love your neighbor as yourself “The Royal Law”.

Unlike new year’s resolutions, the focus of the Greatest Commandment and the Royal Law is not self or even self-improvement. Instead, the wise and powerful focus of these commands is loving and serving God and others. No need for resolutions. Keeping these two greatest commandments is the answer to any question.

May this “Words for Wednesday” serve as a reminder and an invitation to make serving God and our community an intentional goal in 2025 and beyond.

May God bless and inspire us “royally”.

Your sister,
Mikal

My family and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May the hope, joy, peace, and love of God fill your hearts and minds this day and every day as we continue to await the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In Christ,
Kevin, Sonya, Abigail and Samuel

In this third week of Advent, we celebrate the joy that Jesus brought to us through His atoning death, burial, and resurrection.  As we wait on Him to return, we can experience real joy in spite of our circumstances.  That is because real joy isn’t found in circumstances or places; it is found in a person.  That person is Jesus Christ.

Once you have had an encounter with Jesus, you want Him again and again.  Not just the experience, but to be in His presence.  This is why when you wander away from God, joy seems to be missing from your life.  Deep in your heart, there is a painful longing to be joyful.  No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to find “joy”.  But maybe it is not “joy” that you desire but simply to be in the presence of God.  So I would say that “joy” is a longing for God.

Look at the life of Moses in the book of Exodus.  By the time we reach Exodus chapter 33, Moses had already encountered God at the Burning Bush; saw plagues cast down on the Egyptians; watched as God parted the Red Sea; spent time alone with God; and spent 40 days and 40 nights with God as He showed Moses how to build the tabernacle.  That is a lot of time with God!

Yet there was something missing for Moses.  He longed for more.  So Moses simply asked God, “show me your glory”.
 
Even though Moses spent a lot of time with God, saw miracles, and experienced His presence, Moses had reached a point in his life in which the presence of God had perhaps become too routine, and he wanted more – he deeply longed for more.  After God answered Moses’ request and Moses witnessed the glory and splendor of the LORD, his face shone so brightly that he had to wear a veil.  Moses was filled with the joy of the LORD!

You and I can reach a point in our lives where it seems like we pray and there is an emptiness or a lack of feeling God’s tangible presence.  It is in these moments that we must press in deeper, lean in harder and not give up because what we may be sensing is not a lack of God’s presence but yearning in our heart for more of God’s presence.  When we are in the presence of the LORD, there is JOY!

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
Just a reminder that we will have a joint Christmas Eve service with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church next Tuesday evening at 5:00 in their sanctuary. Have a great rest of your Advent week!

In Christ,
Kevin

What is it about the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”?  I find that people either absolutely love it, absolutely hate it or have never seen it.  For those who have seen it, there are very few fence straddlers when it comes to this movie.  For me, it has a fantastical appeal that I love!
 
In the movie, a candy is introduced that is the center of the plot, the Everlasting Gobstopper.  It was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only changes colors and flavors when sucked on, but also never gets any smaller or disappears.  Hence the name “everlasting”.
 
While there is real candy in today’s market called a “Gobstopper”, it does not last forever.  The peace that the world chases after is like that.  They think it will last forever, but it never does.  There is only one peace that lasts and that is the Peace of God.
 
The Bible talks about this peace.  Jesus promised this peace to everyone who believes in Him.  The Apostle Paul experienced this peace time after time and described as a peace that “passes all understanding.”  It is God’s gift to believers, and it is eternal.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has “set eternity in their heart” meaning that God has placed in every soul an awareness that there is something more than our present state.  It is a longing for the eternal.  That “eternal” is God.
 
However, the very heart of the problem for mankind is our rebellion against God.  We want to walk our own path; meet our own needs; be our own god.  As a result, we fight and battle against the Living God of the Bible.

But God sent His Son to be a mediator between us and Him.  Jesus came to reconcile us to God.  When we believe that Jesus died for us and we are willing to turn from our sins and ourselves, the Holy Spirit of God transforms us into new creations.
 
This simple act of faith reconciles us to God and gives us peace with God.  When we have peace WITH God, then we will have the Peace OF God.  Until you are reconciled with God through Jesus, you will never have lasting peace.  Instead, you’ll be chasing after a fictitious Everlasting Gobstopper form of peace.

These are your Words for Wednesday.
 
This Sunday afternoon we will have an outreach to the Ballentine Subdivision and we need all hands on deck! This will a great opportunity for you to interact with the families of Ballentine while at the same time having a great time together as a church body. Festivities will begin at 3:00 pm but we need you to come at 2:30 pm to help get things set up. I hope to see you this Sunday for worship and our outreach! Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin

On July 18, 2018, the Netherlands-registered cargo vessel, the MV Priscilla, grounded in the Pentland Skerries off Orkney at 4:39 a.m.  It is hard to believe that in this modern age of navigation marvel, a ship that size could shipwreck, but it did.
 
It seems that when the officer of the watch took over at 2 a.m. that morning, he turned off track steering and switched on the vessel’s autopilot.  He then sat in a chair and watched videos on his mobile phone, and may even have fallen asleep for a time.  At 4 a.m. he realized that he drifted off course but instead of using navigational data to get back on course, he relied solely on radar to steer a new one.  The result speaks for itself.

This week is the beginning of Advent.  Advent is the time of the year when we look back at the first coming of Christ and look forward in time to His Second Coming.
 
As we wait on God to send His Son, we wait with hope.  Biblical hope is not wishful thinking but a confident expectation based on God’s Word that He will fulfill His promises.  This kind of hope can serve to purify us when we fix our minds and our hearts on Christ.

1 John 3:2-3 states “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

This hope is fixed on Christ.  Knowing that He will return; knowing that you will be changed inside and out; and knowing that you will spend eternity with Him can make temptation less attractive.  It can give you a brighter outlook and lift your spirits.
 
When we begin to drift away from His imminent return, we become prone to wander.   When this happens, we speak more spitefully, and we think more lustfully.

When we find ourselves drifting off course, we must refocus our mind and hearts back on Christ and His imminent return.  As the Apostle Paul told Timothy, we must “fight the good fight” and not reject “keeping the faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
 
Otherwise, if we allow the things of this world to become a distraction, we may end up shipwrecked ourselves.

These are your Words for Wednesday.  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin