If The Lord Wills, We Will

Proverbs 27:1 Don't boast about tomorrow, for you don't know what a day might bring.

James 4:13-17 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit." You don't even know what tomorrow will bring- what your life will be! For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So, for the person who knows to do good and doesn't do it, it is a sin.

We often worry about tomorrow and make detailed plans, presuming that tomorrow will in fact come. This past year I ministered to several families who experienced untimely and unexpected deaths of family members. These times are always powerful reminders that each day is a gift from God that is not to be taken for granted. We are at the mercy of the Lord, and if He wills, we will.

- Presuming upon tomorrow is arrogant.

We pridefully assume that we have everything under control, so we make plans for tomorrow without including the will of God in them. There is nothing wrong with planning for tomorrow. Planning for tomorrow is good stewardship. Planning for tomorrow without submitting to the will of the Lord is foolishness. Such boasting is evil according to God's Word.

- Presuming upon tomorrow is short sighted.

The Scripture says life is like a bit of smoke, a vapor, that is here and then vanishes. Physical life is brief, regardless of how many years you have. Eternity is forever. Are you spending all your time planning for tomorrow and missing out on what God has for you today? Are you failing to live in light of eternity?

- Seek the will of the Lord, and walk in it each day.

Your goal should be to seek God's wisdom for your life, today, and walk in it. It is okay to think about tomorrow, but do so within the framework of your walk with God. Don't presume upon tomorrow and then ask God to bless your plan, that He had nothing to do with.

- Walk in the wisdom of the Lord and do good, for His glory.

The Scripture says, if you know to do good and don't do it, it is sin. Don't be guilty of sin by failing to do good today because you are wrapped up in tomorrow. Maybe you have had the attitude that when you get to a certain place in your life, then you are going to serve God more faithfully, then you are going to do good. Today is the day God has given you to do good. Slow down long enough to see the opportunities around you to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.

Cultivating Christian Contentment

Philippians 4:10-13 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last you have renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me, but lacked the opportunity to show it. I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content- whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Are you cultivating the discipline of Christian contentment? Perhaps you have never thought of it as a discipline. Complaining, negativity, grumbling, and a critical spirit all grow quite well in the soil of selfishness. They are like weeds. The field of the heart left untended will grow them quite bountifully.

If you desire a good crop to grow, it has to be tended, developed, and cared for. The grace of God is overflowing to His children, superabundantly. Yet many of His children never seem to be content. At the heart of the matter is a lack of gratitude to God. If you lack contentment in your life, by your heart attitude, you are saying, "God, you have not provided adequately for me. Your grace is not sufficient."

The process of growing in the discipline of Christian contentment was a painful one for Paul. When he wrote these Holy Spirit inspired words, he did so as an old man, with most of life behind him, as a prisoner in Rome.

I am asking God to cultivate in my heart the discipline of Christian contentment so that I will taste and see and appreciate the goodness of God. I pray you will do the same.

Preparing Your Children For Life

School is back in session for 2009-2010. Kindergarteners everywhere are entering into a new stage of life. College students are doing the same on the other end of the spectrum. Parents are left wondering where the time went.

As parents, we have the responsibility to prepare our children for life. Time with our children is a gift from God that we should not take for granted, because the passages of life come quickly.

There are several key principles in preparing your children for life that I want to encourage you to consider:

1) Your goal is to raise children who honor and glorify God no matter what course their life takes.

I Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Too many parents focus on the potential professional and financial success of their children and get their priorities out of order in doing so. Your primary focus must be on your children coming to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and growing in their faith and becoming God honoring, God glorifying people.

2) You are raising your children with the goal of their becoming responsible, independent adults.

Take advantage of each passage of life and continue to help your children grow and develop and take on more responsibilities. Utilize every teaching opportunity you have to help them learn to stand on their own.

3) Enjoy each moment that God gives you with your children.

Don't dwell on yesterday, you can't bring it back. Don't worry about tomorrow, it is out of your control. Enjoy today, and thank God for it. You have a limited window of opportunity.

4) Pray for your children.

They are in God's hands. He can do a much better job of protecting them and guiding them than you can. He has entrusted them to you, but ultimately they belong to Him.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

New CLBC Worship Pastor- Robert Ballard

Cross Lanes Baptist Church affirmed Robert Ballard as our new Worship Pastor on Sunday. Robert is a native of West Virginia and resides in Cross Lanes with his wife Erin and their son Landon.

Robert has a heart for the Lord and is extremely gifted vocally. His formal education is in music and worship, and he has extensive experience in singing and worship.

He will begin in this position in September. We are believing God for great things in the days ahead for the church and for the Worship Ministry.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

Focal Passage- Romans 6:1-14

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One of the dangers of preaching salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, is that it can be misinterpreted as a license to sin, to do whatever you want. Paul knew that. He was always on guard when he made a strong grace statement. He knew some would apply wrong logic and think- well, if sin brings more grace, let's just sin. That could not be further from the truth.

Should we continue in sin in order that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! No! May it never be! Of course not! God forbid! To live in sin contradicts the grace of God.

1) Remember what God has done for you. vv1-10

2) Live in light of what God has done for you. v11

3) Offer yourself to God for the purpose of righteousness. vv12-14

You have been raised to walk in the newness of life!

An Epic Battle: Darkness vs. Light

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Focal Passage: John 1:1-14

Darkness is a metaphor for sin in the Scripture.

Light is a metaphor for righteousness in the Scripture.

What is the battle between darkness and light for?

1) The battle is for truth.

2) The battle concerns the way to God.

3) The battle is for souls.

4) The battle is for the joy of God's people.

Depend on God. . .

Shine the light into the darkness!

Cross Lanes Baptist to Mexico- Friday

We wrapped up the week today with a two hour boat ride into the Sumidero Canyon. It was a nice conclusion to a great week. The cliffs in the canyon rise up 3000 feet above the river in some places and the water is 750 feet deep at the deepest point.

I am looking forward to being at CLBC on Sunday. The new church year is just around the corner and we are gearing up for a great fall season. Pray for us as we fly on Saturday for safe flights and smooth connections in Mexico City and Atlanta.

Cross Lanes Baptist to Mexico- Thursday

We have been reminded this week of how missions is about relationships. Jesus said, "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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-39.

God created man for a relationship with Him. When sin entered the world through the disobedience of man, his relationship with God was broken. Relationships between people were broken also. God sent His Son Jesus into this world to reconcile people to Himself. We are the instruments that God uses to tell the story of the Good News, that what was broken can now be restored by God.

Missions is about our relationship with God. When we come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we begin to realize what God created us for to start with. He created us for His glory. Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." We grow in our walk with God as we surrender all that we have and all that we hope to be to Him, for His glory.

Missions is about communicating the good news to others so that they can be reconciled to God and have a relationship with Him. All of the brokenness, pain, and suffering in this world can only be alleviated through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Missions is about relationships with others. We were reminded of this in a powerful way this week. When you pour your heart into the work and get to know the people, many relationships are formed. We wrapped up our work last night and it was very difficult to leave because of the love shown by the people and the love shown to the people.

It was a blessed week. We finish up today by seeing some more of the culture in the area and we fly out in the morning.

Cross Lanes Baptist to Mexico- Wednesday

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

Where the darkness is most pervasive, the light shines the brightest. After VBS today, we ventured into a part of the community in Tuxtla Gutierrez that we had not been. It immediately seemed to be darker spiritually. Some of the people were not as receptive. I encountered one older man who informed me that he was old enough to know about life and that when he died he would be put in a hole and that was pretty much it. I explained the Gospel to him, but his hardened heart and spiritually deaf ears could not hear the message.

In the midst of the darkness, there were still several who were ready and willing to respond to the message of hope and trust Jesus. I have been so blessed by our team here this week. Every person has had the opportunity on many occasions to share their faith with other adults in house to house evangelism. I am certain that everyone has grown spiritually through these experiences.

I preached to a full church this evening. The message was from 2 Corinthians 2-3, "God is Enough." After the service we went up on the roof of the church,where I took the photo that is included in this post. We spent some time praying for the city.

We must be doing the same for our cities at home as well. I am burdened for Cross Lanes and the surrounding communities. There is much spiritual darkness. Jesus was talking about us, His followers when He said "you are the light of the world." We are the light of the world because we are a reflection of Him.

Let's keep on shining in the darkness until Jesus comes.

CLBC to Mexico- Tuesday

The group of children we are working with increased by 50% today. The word is out that we are in the area. The day went well and the children have much joy even though they have little else.

After lunch we went back out into the community house to house. I met a boy named Louis. He is eleven years old, has never been to school and cannot read. He lives in a tin enclosure with dirt floors, with his two younger sisters and his father. His mother left. He knew nothing about Jesus. So I shared the Gospel with him, but he was not sure that he wanted to trust Jesus. The translator working with me was touched by this boy and I told her and the two team members that were with me that we would go back.

We finished up and went back to the church for dinner. After dinner, I asked the translator and a couple of our team members if they wanted to go back up and see if Louis was there and we could take him some things from Vacation Bible School. We made our way back up the street walking and ran into a little girl who had been in Bible School. She came up to me and hugged me and insisted that I come talk to her mother. We told her we would be back by and went to where Louis was, but he was not home.

So we walked back to where the little girl was and she went and got her mother out of the house. I found out her mother had been to a Catholic church but did not have a relationship with Jesus. I talked to her about the good news, and she trusted in Christ as her Savior. The Lord had other plans for our being back up that street, but the work was not finished.

On our way back to the church, we rounded a corner on a dirt street and who did we see? It was Louis, helping an older man make mortar for cement blocks. He doesn't go to school but he works apparently. I called him and another boy over, who was nine years old and told them the story of Jesus. Louis admitted that he was a sinner and needed salvation and he and the other boy trusted Christ.

The Gospel is not complicated. There is nothing like telling people about Jesus. There were several others who trusted Christ today as we talked to people in the community. There are many more who need to.

What about the people that don't know Jesus in your community? Are you willing to go, and testify to the grace and mercy of God?

CLBC to Mexico- Monday

We had a productive day today. Our day started out a little shaky when our bus was considerably late to pick us up. One of the primary rules of mission work is "blessed are the flexible." The bus did come, which is a good thing and we headed up the mountain to our assignment for the day.

The children were already gathered when we arrived with smiles on their faces. Our ladies opened up with a puppet show for the kids and some songs. They did their best to sing some songs in Spanish, which was well received.

This is the first work of this kind that has been done at the church and as far as I can tell the first for this area. The older teenagers and the adults helping seemed to enjoy the day as much as the younger children.

We did a typical VBS rotation with crafts, games, and a Bible story for the day. It went well and we were very well received.

After lunch, we went out into the community to go house to house sharing the Gospel. It is not missions if the Gospel is not central to the work. When I take people out of the country, I want to get them out of their comfort zones and sharing their faith. So we divided up in groups with the assignment that each team member was to have the opportunity to share their faith. I went first then I said, "now it's your turn." Our team responded wonderfully. We have some who are seasoned mission workers and comfortable in sharing their faith, and we have others who are newer to it. But nobody hesitated. We saw three people trust Jesus as their Savior in the door to door work.

The people were very welcoming and invited us into their homes. The poverty is extreme here. Most of the homes have dirt floors, and ramshackle roofs and walls, and typically have no running water or sewer. If they have beds, they are made of wooden slats with some covers to pull over at night. We come to offer hope. We offer a hope that will outlast anything we could do for them materially. Pray for us as the week continues.

Now, I have a question for you. Look at the picture in this blog post. Look carefully, what do you see? Houses? Yes. Buildings? Yes. Mountains in the background? Yes.

Now, let me tell you what I see. I see are fields that are white unto harvest. But the laborers are few. I see houses that have people in them, most of whom do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

What are you going to do about it?

Cross Lanes Baptist Mexico Mission

A team of 9 from Cross Lanes Baptist Church is in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico this week. This area is located approximately 40 miles from the Guatemalan Border. We are working with CERI at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. The church is a young church plant and we are the first team to come in and assist them with ministry to children.We went to church this morning for worship and then went out into the community to talk with people and find children to work with this week. My first international missions experience was in Mexico a number of years ago. It impacted me deeply and it has been meaningful to be back down here ministering.

I am always moved and thankful when I have the opportunity to serve in cross cultural missions. I am reminded of how much God loves the nations. He loves every tribe, tongue and nation and He demonstrated His love preeminently at the cross. God will never leave Himself without a witness and there are people all over the face of the globe who call on the name of Jesus. They are in out of the way places, serving God faithfully, doing much with little. That is convicting to me and compelling also. There are millions more who don't yet know Jesus. Jesus told the church to go and make disciples.

I am thankful to have the privilege to serve as the Pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church. It is a church that has a passion for the glory of God and for missions and taking the Gospel "down the street and around the world." We will have well over 100 people involved in mission efforts in different places around the world this year. That transforms the DNA of a church. I look forward to what God is going to continue to do as we passionately live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

Children On Mission

It is never too early to get children involved in mission work. At Cross Lanes Baptist we believe it is important for children to be properly educated about the Great Commission, but we believe it is equally important to get them involved in the work.

There has to be proper planning for that to happen because not all mission efforts are age appropriate. Each year, we purposefully plan several mission opportunities that the children in our church can be involved in. These include local block parties, seasonal mission opportunities, regional mission opportunities, and even international mission opportunities if accompanied by a parent. I began taking each of my children on an appropriate mission trip by first grade.

Eight children from CLBC served in Coalwood and War, West Virginia this week. Both of my children had the opportunity (expectation) to share their faith with other children. They don't know to be afraid. They don't suffer from the hindrances that so many adults do and I pray they never do.

Our goal with involving children in mission work is to ingrain it so much in their lives that it is a central part of who they are. When they become adults, they will be kingdom minded Christians who love Jesus and want others to know about Him.

What are you doing to teach your children about God's work?

A Life Lesson From A Van Battery

To say that this has been a busy summer, would be a mild understatement. I won't bore you with the details of why it has been so busy, but just take my word for it.

My Wednesday evening message was from Luke 10, the story of Martha and Mary at Bethany. The focus was on maintaining the right life perspective and making the best choices in order to focus on your relationship with Jesus. I made the point that much of what we spend our time on and worry about is really insignificant, and we have to work to maintain the right priorities.

So, after service I took care of several ministry items I needed to take care of and went out to the parking lot only to discover that the battery was dead in my wife's van. I have to think that God has a sense of humor. The battery could have gone dead at any time, but it went dead right after my sermon on not worrying about the insignificant things of life.

Rather than leaving to pick up some needed items to send down with the group going to War, WV on Thursday to close out the mission work there this week, I went to Advanced Auto and spent an hour replacing the battery in the van.

Go ahead, laugh, because it is funny.

God's Grace Overflows

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Scripture Passage- Romans 5:12-21

• Sin entered the world through Adam. vv12-14

- All are counted or declared guilty because of Adam's sin.

- All have a sinful nature because of Adam's sin.

• Salvation entered the world through Jesus. vv15-21

- Judgment came because of Adam.

- Salvation came because of Jesus.

Grace will reign eternally through righteousness!

Open your heart to God's grace. Repent and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

The Great Commission- Just Do It

"Experts" on healthy churches abound. There are enough surveys being conducted on church health to choke an elephant. There are people making a living, and a really good one at that, speaking on the conference circuit on how to have a healthy church, how to be missional, etc. Everyone has an opinion on these issues.

All the while, there are churches all over the world, quietly doing kingdom work while everyone else is talking about it. Most of these churches are not the ones that make the headlines. Their pastors will never be known on this side of eternity. The pastors will never speak at a cool conference with all the bells and whistles and a fat honorarium. They are simply serving in their corner of the world, winning people to Jesus and teaching them what it means to be disciples.

Emanuel Baptist Church in Cahul, Moldova is one of those churches. They didn't need a book to tell them what a missional church is, they read THE BOOK and fell in love with Jesus. I was privileged to work with this church recently. Their Pastor Anatol Dunas is pictured above baptizing a new convert to Christ in a Sunday morning worship service.

These folks don't need a GPS Program or a denominational renewal to help them win people to Jesus. They read the Great Commandment and the Great Commission and are trying something really novel, cutting edge, and radical. They are going house to house telling the Good News! They are claiming their city for Christ. They don't have many financial resources. Their congregation has a high number of young people, young families and young students. What they have though, is the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them. They are using every available means they can to win people to Jesus. 

This kind of church can be found all over the globe. There are many here in the United States. God is working through His people in a powerful way. The Great Commission is not complicated but it is hard work. It is a lot easier to talk about it than it is to be obedient to it. 

The Great Commission- Just Do It! God is moving and working for His glory. 

The question is, will you be a part of what He is doing?