Moving On

One of the greatest problems we Christians have is leaving the past behind us and moving on to the future with hope and optimism. The Apostle Paul admonished the Christians at Philippi regarding this when he wrote, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high-calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Often it is our past that induces a sense of defeat in our lives. We become obsessed with memories of failures from the past, or we allow previous mistakes to stifle our spiritual growth. Hurts, emotional pain, disappointments can become like a cancer, metastasizing into anger, bitterness, and frustration that paralyze us, and keep us on the bench rather than in the game.

Paul recognized these symptoms, and that is why he advocated the importance of letting go and moving on. Often in counsel I have expressed a similar statement "You can't go back, only ahead."

To use a sports analogy, one of the things every sprinter learns is the importance of focusing on the race, and not his competition. Just one glance behind to see if someone is gaining ground may cause a misstep, and the race may be lost!

That is how we believers ought to be. Keep your focus on the Lord Jesus. Relinquish the debilitating power the past may have on you. The hurts, disappointments and failures. In all honesty, the only thing we ought to see when we look back are the blessings of God. And let’s not forget, God can use of the past to make us wiser and stronger. We are not to allow past circumstances to render us helpless in the present.

As Warren Weirsbe puts it, "Focus your gaze and concentrate on what God has for you in the future.

See you Sunday!

Pastor

Spring Cleaning

Following Jewish tradition, during the last several weeks the regular, weekly reading of the Torah was accompanied by a series of special readings proclaiming to the Jewish people that the Holy Season of Passover had begun.

In practical terms, in every Jewish home, this is the season to clean house. Leavening, or to the Jewish household “chametz” is forbidden as it is believed that leaven is symbolic of sin. Jewish households will search for even the smallest speck of chametz and it is cast out.

Therefore, in preparing for Passover the home must be swept clean, and this ritual cleansing goes beyond food items. Anything that has come in contact with leaven must be purified; pots, pans, dishes, etc. must be washed.

This religious exercise is intended to mirror a spiritual corollary, as this is a sacred time for Jews as they prepare their hearts to commemorate what is arguably the most significant event in their history.

There are times in all of our lives that we need cleansing. Living in this “dirty” world should, at least occasionally, cause even the best Christian to recognize the need for spiritual housekeeping.

When unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, lust, greed, and the biggest one of all, pride, take root in our hearts, they “dirty” us. It is a good thing for us to pause and take inventory of our lives, our attitudes, our priorities, and to remove the “chamtez”. In order to be acceptable for God to work within our lives, we need to be “clean” vessels. What a verse is I John 1:9, “If we confess He will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Take inventory. Look for the “chametz” in your life and remove it. Then prepare for the blessings of God.

See you Sunday!

Pastor

Praise Him!

In Chapter 19 of Luke’s gospel, as Jesus began His entrance into Jerusalem, a multitude of disciples began to praise Him. The Pharisee’s were incensed by this display of joyful adulation, and demanded Jesus rebuke His disciples. But the Lord instead responded by admonishing the Pharisees, “I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” Essentially, He was saying that God is due all praise, and if men did not offer this praise, nature would.

Our lives should testify to men of the goodness of God. The Bible condemns luke-warmness, which was apparent in the Pharisees’ response detailed above. This should be especially true as we celebrate this Easter; our praise and worship should be over-flowing and abounding with joy! What a time to praise the Lord and to share Him with others!

I love the hymn, “There is a fountain filled with blood”. The last verse says “Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing thy power to save. When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.” Although the words of this song cause my heart to swell with emotion when I realize I’ll be singing praises at the foot of the Heavenly throne, they also compel me to worship and praise God with all I have while I live!

God bless you and I’ll see you on Sunday!

Pastor

Everybody is Somebody!

There is a wonderful Baptist church in Cartersville, Georgia I visited during my days traveling as an evangelist. I very much liked the motto followed by this church: "Where everybody is somebody in the body". That neatly summarizes the lesson the Apostle Paul details for the church in chapter 12 of 1st Corinthians!

Last week a survey was distributed to the congregation. I very much appreciate the time each of you took to provide your responses. I enjoyed reading through them. Thank You! The reason I wanted to do the survey was to have a means for me to receive some honest feedback from my church family. I value your opinion, and what you think is of the utmost importance to me.

I would like to emphasize that, as your Pastor, I cherish each and every representative group within our church. I love our youth. It is the highlight of my day when I walk down to the school and mingle with the kids. I think we have some of the finest young people in the world! I admire the dear ladies of the church. To me, they are the epitome of grace. The men in the church are just that - MEN! I thank God for you guys. Thanks for befriending your Pastor.

Young and old, rich and poor, all have a place here at Chestertown Baptist Church. Your value to me, and more importantly to God, is great!

God bless you dear folks. My heart overflows with love and respect for you.

See you on Sunday! Don't forget our new series on Revelation begins on Sunday evening!
Pastor

Don't Let Stress "Stress" you out!

Stress seems to be ingrained into our modern lives; its presence has become so second nature to us it is like breathing oxygen. I often wonder what life would be like without it, but I guess you could call that a real “fantasy”!

E-mails, Facebook, Twitter, doctor appointments and a long to-do list from here to eternity filled with unchecked boxes are all part of our daily reality. I often leave the office exasperated by the enormous amount of work that is still left undone, and worse, I realize the next day I will tackle all I can, but still never complete all of these tasks! Talk about stress inducing!

There was s a time in my life when I actually thrived on the pressures of my job. But that was when I was young; now that I am older (and wiser!) I recognize it for what it is: STRESSFUL! It often crashes in on me like a wave. I would love to avoid it, but I can’t.

As Christians we often believe this should not be the case; our focus should prevent stress. But being salt and light, as we’re called to be, will often introduce situations which will cause a great deal of stress. No matter our personality type, introvert or extrovert, we were never made to live life sedately. God designed us to be fully alive, and there are times when being fully alive will include stress!

However, remember that these difficulties are worth it. Our Lord Jesus told us that the sufferings of this present world cannot be compared to the glory that shall be revealed one day.

The next time you are felling overwhelmed by life’s trials, I recommend you reflect on these verses (there are many others as well!):

John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:33: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

So, don’t stress out. Thank God for the opportunity to serve. Glory is going to be ours. Until then let’s continue on.

God bless, see you Sunday!

Pastor

Time is Filled with Swift Transition

Please forgive me for the absence of blogs the last two weeks. I have been rather busy and before I realized it, two weeks had flown by! My father had a saying which described how busy life can be that went something like this: "I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger with an itch on a one-wrung ladder." Though I haven't been that busy, the thought of how fast time goes by has occurred to me, and it seems the older I get, the quicker my time here flies by. The old adage time and tide wait for no man is so true.

The Bible has many verses which allude to how quickly our time in this temporal realm passes. Job describes this as a "weavers shuttle and a hurrying messenger". James puts it this way: "it is as a vapor that appears for a moment then vanisheth away". When wandering in the wilderness the old sage Moses said in Psalms 90, "We are like grass that grows up in the morning and in the evening it is cut down." Moses also beseeches the Lord to "Teach us to number our days so we may apply our hearts to wisdom."

Personally, I love life. God has been very good to me. Sure, I've had my share of burdens, but they have served to strengthen my spiritual muscle. I often remind myself when going through a valley that I was not made for this world. I am heading toward my eternal home. No use complaining about it, go with it. Enjoy the race! But don't get too comfortable - it doesn't last long! Make good use of the time allotted to you! As the writer of Hebrews exhorts us, “let us run with patience the race that is set before us”.

God bless you all! I'll see you on Sunday. It will be here before you know it!

Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.

Pastor

Going Through the Motions

Many of us go to church every Sunday, sing the songs, greet friends and listen to the sermon, but we are only going through the motions. Do you ever feel as though you have lost your zeal? Do you long to reconnect with God and truly worship Him? That's how the people in Malachi's day felt. They even told God it was a weakness to serve the Lord. Literally that means they turned their nose at it!

I personally believe that one of the great maladies of our day is the sincere worship of God. Sunday after Sunday we attend church like we're doing God a favor. While the service is going on we check off things in order, wait for the final prayer and go home often as dry as when we came in. Many can hardly wait for it to be over. But we must do our duty. It's all so wearisome. The thrill is gone, the excitement has long since departed. The joy that once filled the heart has turned into monotony and boredom.

We can leave church one of two ways: full or empty. Luke 1:53 says, "He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich He hath sent away empty." Oft times we Christians are like the Laodician's. We are rich and in need of nothing. Very few are thirsty anymore. We come in for nothing and we leave with nothing.

An unexcited Christian is one that has forgotten God and who He is.

Remember this Sunday when you come to the services Who it is we are worshipping. That will make all the difference in the world!

God bless, have a great week and I'll see you on Sunday as we come together to worship.

Pastor