Category: Uncategorized

A Giving Celebration

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Giving, Praise & Worship, Uncategorized

 

occ2

“God directs his people not simply to worship but to sing his praises before the nations. We are called not simply to communicate the gospel to nonbelievers; we must also intentionally celebrate the gospel before them.” (Tim Keller)

One of the many ways we can “celebrate the gospel” before nonbelievers is for them hear how God meets our needs for His work and His glory!  How sad that the unbelieving world sees us storing up treasures here, even going into debt for temporal things that have no eternal value, and they never heard the stories of how our great God supplied our needs and especially provided so we could get in on the blessing of giving!!  God wants you to celebrate not grumble or be a Mr. Scrooge.

The following passage describes one of the many celebration activities in a believer’s life:

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).

One of the most joyful events that occurs in any church service is when the offering is received!  Think about it.  Look at the following based upon the above passage:

  1. God promises that if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully.
  2. God does not pressure you to give.
  3. God does not want you to be miserable when you give but joyful.
  4. God is able to provide so you can get in on the blessing of giving.

Indeed, it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35), even when you do not think you have to give.  God is able!  So, when it comes time to give, do not look at your wallet, look at your God Who is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Cor. 9:8).

Therefore, people of BCBC, preparing to give and then giving to missions in 2017 should really make you celebrate when you consider 2 Corinthians 9:15!!

I am looking for much celebration in the days to come!  God is able!

His Heartbeat

by Dale, posted in Church, Discipleship, Evangelism, Missions, Uncategorized

operation-cmas-child-1140x450

It was one of those moments!!  I’m seated on the front row of our church auditorium Sunday morning as we watched an Operation Christmas Child video.  Within seconds I was captivated.  There I viewed precious children wearing huge smiles of joy as they received and opened their shoe boxes!  Greater still was the testimonies of children who had received Christ as their personal Lord and Savior as a result of this initiative.  Then I realized that these children were not only gripping my heart, but it was touching the hearts of many around me.  Our church is buzzing with excitement this month as we participate for the first time in OCC!!  Missions is the heartbeat of God! Look at the cross and empty tomb.

Prior to the OCC presentation, one our church members shared the good news of God’s working in another missionary endeavor in Salt Lake City, Utah.  What a thrill to see and hear the testimonies of children and adults declaring their desire to be publicly identified with Christ in baptism; announcing their decision to follow Christ and be His disciple!  One adult, newly saved, walked in off the street, asked to be baptized, and the tank was filled during the morning service so this “Ethiopian treasurer” (Acts 8:26-38) could be obedient to the Lord!!  Missions is the heartbeat of God! Look at the cross and empty tomb.

What is missions? In its most direct and simple form, missions is Matthew 28:19-20, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . . .  Furthermore, Psalm 96: 3 says, Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!  Also, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him would not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Missions is the heartbeat of God!  Look at the cross and empty tomb.

How wonderfully blessed to be a part of a church that is involved in the heartbeat of God!  This month, our focus is on Grace Giving Missions, the means whereby we support these and other missionary endeavors each year.  My challenge today in this post is really directed to our church family.  As you seek the Lord in prayer this week for what He would have you give each month for missions, would you ask yourself this question, “What is my heartbeat for missions?”  Before you answer that question, take a long look at the cross (Matthew 27:27-54).  Then stand for a while at the empty tomb (Matthew 28:1-10).  Do you have God’s heartbeat for missions?  Matthew 16:26 says, For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  The Lord placed more value on a man’s soul than the wealth of the world.

I believe those moments like Sunday morning in church are a result of your heart beating like God’s heart because missions is the heartbeat of God!

The Greatest Tragedy

by Dale, posted in Death, Eternity, Salvation, Sin, The Gospel, Uncategorized
greatest-tragedy
slideshare.net

Almost every day, I scan through the headlines, Latest News and Watch Now sections of foxnews.com. Here are some of what made yesterday afternoon’s news:

  • An Execution: Hunt for criminal after sheriff’s deputy killed
  • At least 2 dead after magnitude-7.8 earthquake hits New Zealand
  • France remembers 130 killed in Paris attacks 1 year ago
  • Georgia prepares to execute man who killed ex-girlfriend 15 years ago
  • Pennsylvania inmate arrested in 2008 murder of New York teenager
  • 18-year-old charged with murder in road-rage beating
  • Father and son die in hiking accident near Northern California lake
  • Rocker Leon Russell dies in Nashville at 74
  • Four Americans killed by suicide bombing in Afghanistan

Wow! Deaths, killings, murders, . . . one tragedy after another.  The Word of God addresses these scenarios and gives us the root cause of them all.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. (Matthew 15:19-20a)

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44)

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:1-4)

The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23a)

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27).

How sad to see an innocent life snuffed out because of a selfish, wicked heart.  How painful to see the effects of sin! How awful to watch men and women play out the defilement of their hearts.  And we say, “How tragic!”  My friend, none of things in the aforementioned news headlines rank as the greatest tragedy.  And before I go any further, I am not heartless nor belittling the agony or pain described in those headlines.  Nevertheless, the greatest tragedy occurs every day on earth when a man or woman dies in their sins, rejecting the person of the Lord Jesus Christ Who paid for their sins, and therefore slips into eternity never again having the opportunity to accept the free-pardon of sin through Christ.  In short, the greatest tragedy today is when someone dies and goes to hell . . . and they do so by their own choosing.  Jesus Christ came to earth, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins as our substitute, and rose from the tomb to prove He is Who He said He was and is, and . . . He did it all for you. No one needs to die in his sins and go to hell, a place reserved for Satan and his demons, because God so loved you, my friend, that He gave His only Son, the only one like Him, to die in your place so you would not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

The greatest tragedy . . . an eternity in hell.

The greatest triumph . . . eternity in heaven.

If this post today has piqued your interest, has created within you a desire to know more, would you take 17 minutes to consider just Five Questions and their answers.

17 minutes vs. eternity?  Please take time to watch it now.

Clippin’ Grace Coupons in Ministry

by Dale, posted in Grace, Ministry, Pastoring, Uncategorized

Every week ministry is filled and enriched by God’s grace.  No matter what kind of week it has been, grace has been sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9) and overflowing (2 Corinthians 9:8).  Here’s another peek into some of the grace coupons I clipped in recent days.

COUPON #1:  COUPLES’ ADVANCE

couples-8d522a49

Several years ago, I attended my first Men’s Prayer Advance, and I have never been the same since.  The MPA is the highlight conference for me each year.  Last week, my wife and I attended our first Couples Advance.  The fact that is was held in Pigeon Forge, TN, made the event that much sweeter!  How we love East Tennessee and the Smokies!  More importantly, how wonderful to come apart for three days and intentionally work on our marriage by the grace of God.  This past June we celebrated our 35th Anniversary, and we both love the gift of marriage and love being married!  Seriously, sometimes I feel like we are still on our honeymoon.  But, because we are two sinners saved by grace (Ephesians 2:1-9) and accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6), we need the searchlight of God’s Word to show where we must grow and change to be more like Christ (Ephesians 5:18-33). Of course, the Word works (Hebrews 4:12)!  What a blessing to get honest with God and each other.  The marriage triangle says it all:

marriage-triangle

COUPON #2:  PREACHING THROUGH REVELATION


He that can toy with his ministry and count it to be like a trade, or like any other profession, was never called of God. But he that has a charge pressing on his heart, and a woe ringing in his ear, and preaches as though he heard the cried of hell behind him, and saw his God looking down on him–oh, how that man entreats the Lord that his hearers may not hear in vain! – Charles Spurgeon

Preparing to preach from this awesome book every Sunday takes considerable time, prayer, and digging.  To mine out the truths and deliver them without a sensational spin as well as be true to the text is a chore but a delightful one. I often think of a line from the movie, Sheffey, when he preaches his first sermon and runs out of the church in fear.  Shed McCombs, in the face of Sheffey’s protests and not willing to let him quit, declares, “Tis a fearful thing to preach the Word of God!”  Indeed it is, but I must say, how grateful to be grace-enabled to preach Revelation in these last days!

Scratchin’ My Head

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Praise & Worship, Prayer, Uncategorized

george-marks-puzzled-businessman-scratching-his-head

Yesterday’s presidential election was, I believe, a display of the mercy of God and a direct answer to the millions who gave hours to effective, fervent prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  God heard our cries, and our nation has been delivered, this time, from four or more years of a pagan, ungodly, anti-Christ government, national agenda.  It was as though we were in Daniel’s shoes as he prayed for the city of Jerusalem and Israel, O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name (9:19), God intervened once again.

What rejoicing is wrought when God answers from His Holy Throne in mercy, grace and victory!  Yesterday, the election results were the buzz.  But, I have to be honest with you.  I am scratchin’ my head at something.  To watch God work in such a powerful way, in such a way that left many in disbelief, I am at a loss to explain why our churches were not filled to capacity last night with the people of God from everywhere praising the Lord in song, testimony, praise and MORE PRAYER.  Quite frankly, I am perplexed.

After the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea, the people of Israel gathered to sing the song of the redeemed (Exodus 15) in praise for God’s deliverance.  A parallel passage to Exodus 15 is found in Isaiah 12 which has an eschatological tone of millennial praise!  What a day that will be for the nation of Israel and us! Seems like to me that the hymn of praise recorded in Isaiah should have been the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart (Psalm 19:14) last night in prayer  and praise gatherings across this land!!

Still scratchin’ my head this morning.

Our Native Tongue

by Dale, posted in Prayer, Uncategorized

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Last evening, while contemplating my Monday, a personal day of prayer and Bible study with the election heavy on my heart and mind, I began to watch the Worship Night in America video.  As the introduction played along, I heard the following statements, and they greatly resonated in my heart!

Prayer is the language of the people of God.

Prayer is her native tongue.

Today marks the end of an election that has brought many things to the forefront of people’s minds, both positive and negative, but none greater among evangelicals, I believe, than prayer.  How awesome to see in recent months the people of God at Boones Creek Bible Church express the language of Heaven, to meet together for three hours and cry out to God, to gather in small groups around the front of the church and speak our native tongue, to have a group gather every Monday for one hour or more to gather around the Throne of Grace, and even this past Sunday night to watch a remnant of the church broken before God in faith-believing, intercessory, confessional, repentive supplication that led to a crescendo of worship-filled song!

God loves to hear His redeemed pray, to cry out to Him.

Psalm 34:15 – The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry.

Psalm 66:19-20 – But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me.

Proverbs 15:29 – The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.

Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the Throne of Grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Christ shed His blood to open the way to the Throne of Grace.  He has given us a language, a native tongue, which identifies us as true believers reconciled back to God into the fellowship of grace and mercy through Christ alone. There is never a moment that we do not need God; we are desperate for Him every moment of our lives . . . and He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Now that this election is hours from being over, may the passion for prayer and in prayer continue.  Yes, prayer is the language, the native tongue of God’s people.  It is the atmosphere of every believer.

Psalm 18:6 – In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.

Clippin’ Grace Coupons in Ministry

by Dale, posted in Uncategorized

DEACONS & WIVES RETREAT

What a blessed privilege to gather for an overnighter at THE WILDS to develop greater community and heart among our leaders and their wives.  We searched the Scriptures, prayed, shared testimonies, prayed, laughed, prayed, searched the Scriptures, prayed and prayed some more as pursued the Lord and the weekend theme of “Continue in Prayer” (Acts 2:42, 46).

PASTOR APPRECIATION

How graced to be serving alongside my son-in-law and daughter in the ministry at BCBC!  Last Sunday, our church recognized them for their labor among us.  They also shared their announcement of following the Lord’s leading into fostering parenting.

The Priority of Life

by Dale, posted in 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting, Christian Living, Prayer, Uncategorized
crooyi6vuaalfeh
MYBIBLE.COM

Prayer should be the number one priority of our life.  That’s your life-line to the Throne of Grace. That’s how you seek God first (Matthew 6:33). “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.   Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan” (John Bunyan).

A shield to the soul

Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.  (Psalm 28:6-7)

A sacrifice to God

Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psalm 144:1-2)

A scourge to Satan

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Often I hear my wife say, “No decision before prayer.”  If you seek Christ first, I think you will be engaged throughout your day in much silent and vocal communication with your Heavenly Father Who loves you and always has His ear open to your cry!

 

Your Daily Planner

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Prayer, Uncategorized
weeklyscheduless
Effexis Software

Does your daily planner resemble this one?  Look through your personal planner for a moment (whether you have one or not).  What does it reveal about you?  You have planned work, meetings, school, fitness, entertainment, grocery shopping, ballgames, school events, eating out, visits to family, church, etc.  When do you pray?  I know you can pray throughout the day, and you should, but when do you really pray?  When do you meet with God? Is it scheduled in your planner?  Is it every day?  Why or why not?  Do you really think you can get through your day without an appointment with God Who gives you all that you need for life today?  If you alone have the ability to make yourself breathe, think, see, remember, feel, touch, walk, talk, plan, play, drive, eat, lead, wash, put your make up on, make decisions, worship, sing, listen, understand Scripture, run, put on your clothes, all the stuff of life. . . . YOU DO NOT NEED GOD.

But, if you fully understand the truths of Acts 17:24-31 (see below), you will most certainly make a daily appointment with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is our Advocate and High Priest (1  John 2:1; Hebrews 4:14-16).  You are desperate for Him.  You know you really, really need Him every moment of the day and night.  You know you need the grace of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, the comfort of God, the direction of God, the love of God, the mercy of God, the Word of God, the forgiveness of God, the mercy of God, the kindness of God, the faithfulness of God, . . . the absolute fullness of God which is found only in a personal relationship with the Lord Christ Jesus (John 1:1-4; Hebrews 1:1-4).

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Andrew Bonar said it so well:  “Why is there so little forethought in the laying out of time and employment, so as to secure a large portion of each day for prayer?  Why is there so much speaking, yet so little prayer?  Why is there so much running to and fro to meetings, conventions, fellowship gatherings and yet so little time for prayer?  Brethren, why so many meetings with our fellow men and so few meetings with God?  (Deep Fire, ChristLife Publications, p. 305)

What does your daily planner reveal about your prayer life?

Thirsty & Crying

by Dale, posted in Church, Prayer, Uncategorized

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Why is it that when you call for a prayer meeting, born again believers run the other way?  Why is it that if you schedule, let’s say, a fall leaf trip excursion, folks are willing to gather at 7:00 a.m., but if you call for a prayer meeting on Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m., a handful show up?  Why are believers afraid of entering the secret place of the Most High God (Psalm 91:1)?

To run from prayer is to run from God.  Oh, how He longs to hear the cries of His people!  How He longs for us to commune and listen to Him!  Oh, how He longs for us to look to Him for His powerful, life-altering, God-glorifying answers to our supplications!   How He longs to enjoy fellowship with us; that’s why Christ died for every one of us.

1919271_10156630456125693_561943042291538569_n

Is your soul really thirsty and crying out for God?  Matthew Henry said, “God is more willing to be prayed to, and more ready to hear prayer, than we are to pray.”

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles (Psalm 34:15, 17).

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God (Psalm 42:1).

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).

And they continued steadfastly (to give constant attention to) . . .in prayers (Acts 2:42).