There should have been more people on Noah’s Ark during the Flood…..

Genesis 5 is a genealogy record of Adam (v.1). This line of Adam’s family stands in contrast to that of Cain’s family (Genesis 4:17-24) because, this record follows the godly line or, for sake of illustration, the “Christian” line. In this Scripture we can notice some undeniable facts about a few of these men.

Abel was a prophet (Luke 11:50-51) and received revelation from God. After Abel was murdered by Cain, God gave Adam and Eve another son to replace Abel. His name was Seth (Genesis 4:25-26) and he was a prophet and also received revelation from God.

Then, notice Enoch (Genesis 5:22-24). Enoch is a wonderful picture of the believer with a personal walk with God. His relationship with God was so close that God translated him straight to heaven. Enoch’s testimony speaks to us today of one who has faith and pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). Also, Enoch was a prophet and received revelation of God. Enoch preached the second coming of Christ (Jude 14-15).

It is clear from Genesis 5 that the life expectancy of the day was from 700 to over 900 years. All of these men in the godly line of Adam reproduced multiple children (Genesis 5:4,7,10,13,16,19,22,26,30). Even though some of these men walked with God, their children and grandchildren did not, because all of their family perished in the flood as unbelievers except for Noah and his three sons.

If this can happen then, it can happen now. God help us.

Do you pray for your pastor…

The Military is dealing with soldiers returning from the war zones. Some soldiers return with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and other mental problems. The suicide rate for returning soldiers in the Army is at the highest level since they have keep records. The Military has programs to prepare all of the returning soldiers to readjust to home-life. These problems are very real and for some they are very difficult. We need to pray for our soldiers.

The Apostle Paul teaches the young pastor Timothy, that the pastor is a soldier (II Timothy 2:3-4). The ministry of a pastor is a spiritual battle. Sometimes this spiritual battle is physical but, more often it is mental. Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. He tells of the physical sufferings he faced as a missionary. In verse 28 Paul says, “that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.” The “care of the all the churches” is the mental aspect of the ministry.

Paul shares that he deals, “daily” with the concerns of the churches. Everyday God’s man is on the battle field caring for the Church. Thank God for the good days in the ministry but, the fact is that, many of the days in the life of the pastor are days of battle. In II Timothy 2:3 Paul tells Timothy to “endure hardness”. The ministry has always been hard.

The pastor does not report to work at 9a.m. and then walk away and leave his job behind at 5p.m. In reality, the nature of the good pastor’s ministry is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from the time God places him into the ministry, till the time he is called home to heaven. Praise the Lord for churches that allow their pastor time to take days off and time away. However, it is my experience that the “care of the church” is continually on his mind even when he is away. The Man of God is always on deployment.

Now, just as the soldier in the military needs resources to handle the pressures of battle and its effect, so does the pastor. I would like to focus your attention on an important resource.

Romans 15:30 “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;”

Paul understood God had given him an important resource in praying people. He asks the Roman believers to pray for him. Behind every great Man of God there are people praying. Paul realized he could not make it without people praying.

No soldier is “Superman” and neither is a pastor. Physical bullets and bombs are not threatening most pastors’ lives but, there are many spiritual bullets and bombs that do. A pastor that is truthful will tell you that the ministry takes a physical and a mental toll. You are one resource that can help him.

Pray for your pastor!!!

There is no "Pearly Gate Judgment"

Most people believe that when a person dies, that person stands at a "pearly gate" and God will determine if you go to heaven or hell. Did you know that this not true?

The Bible is clear that when a person dies they go somewhere. For the believer, one who has been born-again, 2 Corinthians 12:6-8 clarifies that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Therefore, the believer immediately goes to heaven where Christ is (Romans 8:34). For the unbeliever, someone who has never been born-again, Luke 16:22-23 shows that he or she will immediately go to hell.

Most people that believe in a "pearly gate" judgment do not understand the different Biblical judgments. Every person will stand before God and give an account for his or her life. All men do not stand in the same position with God and are not grouped together for one general judgment.

The Word of God teaches about the judgment of the believers (1 Co. 3:11-15; 2 Co. 5:9-10; Ro. 14:10-12). This judgment is called the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Co. 5:10). When Paul says "we", he is including himself in the group with the believers of Corinth. The nature of this judgment is that a believer will suffer loss of reward. What a believer did and why a believer did (motive) will be the issue of judgment.

The Bible also teaches about the Great White Throne Judgment(Re. 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers. The Bible speaks of the dead at this judgment. Every unbeliever is dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). According to the Scripture this judgment takes place just after the Millennial (1000 year) Reign of Christ and before the establishment of the New Heaven and the New Earth (Re. 22:1).

So, when is it determined that a person will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell? In life. Heaven or Hell is not decided by works but, it hinges on what you do with Jesus Christ (Jn 3:36; I Jn. 5:12). You, not God, determine before death where you will spend eternity. Trust Jesus Christ as your Savior today and go to heaven when you die!

Christ is not spelled X

Recently, there have been several people that I know who have promoted articles that justify the use of X in place of Christ in the word Christmas. This is an illustration of the acceptance of compromise in our day.

One person goes on to say that it makes him feel better about using the X while texting. Others have been fascinated with this new revelation. Some have began to share this teaching. The purpose of this article is not to question one’s relationship with the Lord, but to warn of the danger of this compromise.

First, the X that replaces Christ in Christmas has become prominent in our communities. Bible believers should not be shocked. Lost men have always rejected Christ. Without controversy the intention by many is to use the X to remove Christ. What message does the Bible believer send by doing the same?

Second, we live in an age of compromise. Our day is described in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13 “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” Every article that has been written to promote this matter originates from compromising writers. This teaching would never be promoted by a “sound” Bible preacher. It is dangerous to promote teaching from those who are not sound in Bible doctrine.

The problem today is this. Many are like the Athenians in Corinth (Acts 17:21) who were looking for some “new” thing and this philosophy of study has become prevalent. Many feel they are able to read anything and discern error. However, with a strong desire for some new thing, many are accepting and promoting compromising doctrines.

Third, every article promoting this is using the Greek alphabet. We speak English not Greek, how many people in our society know Greek? For clarity and until Greek is understood by everyone in America we should stick with plain English. “For God is not the author of confusion”, 1 Corinthians 14:33.

The week after Thanksgiving I put on our church sign marquee, "Keep Christ in Christmas." Let's do everything to keep Christ preeminent in our lives. Merry Christmas!!!

.....But This Time I Want to Cry.

Sometimes you want to laugh but this time, as I think about it, I want to cry.

Tonight, we were out visiting. When we arrived at one address, a gentleman came out on the porch. As I got out of the car, I introduced myself and began a conversation.

The gentleman was a nice man and thanked us for visiting. He informed me that he and his wife did not attend Church. I let him know they would be welcome to visit with us.

As we were talking, the gentleman's wife came to the door and said, "I hope that car is not dropping oil on my clean driveway." I had noticed a Ford pickup in the drive way, so I said , "No ma'am, it is a Ford." Then, she closed the door and left.

We politely finished our conversation with the gentleman and returned to the car.

I first laughed and commented that I had never been told to "get lost" like that before. Yet, the more I think of it, I am heart broken.

So what is so sad about this event?

God and I know my motives for visiting this house tonight. That motive is to simply share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I do not know the spiritual condition of this lady, but I do know that tonight might have been the night God wanted her to hear about Jesus Christ and His love for her. Yet, her reaction implied that she was not interested.

Unfortunately, this reaction is not uncommon in our society today. America has become cold to the love of God.

Maybe we need to quit laughing and start crying for our country.

God's Timing is Right on Time

What a wonderful story!

It all started approximately 5 years ago. Back then, I wanted to set the Church up on cable Internet access. At that time it was impossible. Comcast wanted to charge the Church $2500 to install the service. However, the Church was not able to cover that expense, so cable was not installed and I was disappointed.

Then, in November of last year, I saw an advertisement from Comcast. They were setting up small business customers at a lower rate than what we were currently paying for telephone and Internet service with free installation.

I called and Comcast showed up to install the service in December. Again, the problem was that the Church is too far off the road. This meant a larger service line was required and the install would be delayed for a few weeks. I was guaranteed that the installation was covered and free (Praise the Lord!).

Well a few weeks turned into today May 18, 2010, nearly 6 months after ordering the service. Several times I almost cancelled the service but, I was very patient with Comcast every time I called.

This morning Comcast sent a Technician to install our service. When he arrived we introduced ourselves, his name is Brian, and I showed him around the Church. Brian went to work and I began to move things out of his way. When Brian started having trouble pulling cable, I took my tie and dress shirt off (t-shirt on), I climbed a ladder, reached into the ceiling and began to help him. This opened the opportunity for us to talk. We talked about the Gulf oil spill and other current news.

As we worked, I asked Brian if he had a church back ground. He replied with a story about how he went to church from a child up to his teenage years. Brian explained how the sin of the pastor affected him and his friends and many them of the have not been to church since.

I asked Brian about his own relationship with God. He said that he had been saved and believed in Jesus Christ. I then asked Brian, “If you died right now, why would God let you into heaven?” He replied, “I hope that God would see the good things that I have done and that I believe in him.”

In the mean time, we finished the install and were beginning the paper work. So I asked Brian if I could take a few minutes and show him some Bible verses. Brian consented and we went straight to Ephesians 2:8-9. After several more Bible verse Brian admitted he was a sinner needing to be saved and was on his knees.

There was no need to lead him in prayer. I showed Brian that the Lord would save him if he asked Him too, Romans 10:13. Immediately, Brian was praying out for God to save him. When he finished, I prayed for Brian. Great joy was in that Church office.

His next statements blew me away. Brian said, “I’m glad you spoke to me about this. Last week I got a Bible and started reading it. I asked God to show me the truth. I wanted to know the truth. Thank you.”

Never under estimate God’s timing. I believe today was ordained of God for Brian to be born into the family of God.

2 Corinthians 6:2 “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

“What ifs” have crossed my mind. What if nearly 5 years ago we had cable installed? What if I had gotten mad and cancelled the order for service? What if another cable installer would have been assigned our order?

“Oh, how I am rejoicing in the Lord!” I am reminded of what Paul told Timothy;

2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”

Brian lives a good distance from our Church, so I referred him to another good Church. He also gave me his contact information and permission to give it to that pastor. I will be contacting the pastor to request him to follow up with Brian.

Let's take advantage of every open door to share the gospel. You never know you might meet a Brian.

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Are Baptist the Only People That Are Going to Heaven?

Absolutely Not! Only those who repent and place their faith in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ alone will go to heaven.

This question was presented to me last week as I was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a religious man. Religion has told this gentleman that baptism is essential for salvation. It is called Baptismal Regeneration and many fail to see it's error.

The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians (2 Cor. 11:4) and the Galatians (Gal. 1:6) about those who teach another gospel. If anyone adds to or takes away from Bible salvation by grace through faith alone, he is deceived with another gospel.

Baptism comes after salvation. It is a public profession of an inward possession of salvation. In baptism a person identifies with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is symbolic in nature. There are no saving properties in the baptismal water.

Those who believe in Baptismal Regeneration have a problem with Bible Scripture. When presented with Scripture, I am amazed how they respond with a weak attempt at human reasoning.

For example, I ask them about the thief who was crucified with Jesus Christ. He cried out, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Jesus Christ responded, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." It is clear that the thief exercised faith and went to heaven when he died. However, he never was baptized.

The response from those who believe in Baptismal Regeneration is usually that this was a special act of God during the Old Covenant (Old Testament). In this human reasoning they are incorrect and Scripture plainly proves so.

First, the thief died after Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches that the death of Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament Law. When the Soldiers came to break the legs of those on the crosses, they did not break Jesus' legs because He was already dead.

John 19:31-33 "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:"

Second, the Bible is clear that God is not a respecter of persons. God will not make a special way for one person that He would not make for ALL.

Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:"

Acts 10:34 "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:"

Bible Salvation is "by grace through faith".

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

The Gospel message is:

Acts 20:21 "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

Any person, regardless of denomination, will be in heaven because they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone.