Ministry Minute

     One of the greatest tools of destruction in a Christian's life is a negative spirit.  Whether it is your own spirit or the spirit of those around you, negativity can halt what God is doing in our life quicker than anything. It is for this reason that we need to guard ourselves against this destructive spirit.  We are tempted to say easier said than done, but God gives us the answer right in His word: Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

     Essentially what Paul is saying is surround ourselves with that which is good, that which is positive.  It begins with daily time in the word of God.  There is no greater source of good since God is Good (Ps. 73:1). It next moves to our mindset.  We need to determine that we are not going to focus on the negative.  This will take some effort because our sinful nature likes to focus on the negative.  Finally remove negativity from around you.  If you are surrounded daily by friends constantly focused on the negative, it may be time to find some new friends.

     There is so much negative happening in the world around us.  If we are not careful, we can easily be drawn right in.  Remember for the believer we have so much more that we can focus on.  As many have said through the years "God is good all the time, all the time Good is good".  Let's defeat this spirit of negativity by  putting Paul's exhortation from Philippians 4:8 into action.  Until next time, may God bless you as you seek and serve Him.

Come and See

     When the men in John 1 asked Jesus where he was staying he simply told them "Come and See".  They followed and remained with him the rest of that day.  Their lives would never be the same, and church history would never be the same.  One of the men who listened to Jesus that day was Andrew, the brother of Peter.  Upon leaving his time with Jesus the first thing Andrew did was go and tell his brother, we have found the Messiah.  Peter would become a follower, gospel preacher, and great witness for the cause of Christ.  All of this started because Andrew answered the invitation "Come and See".

     This same simple invitation is open to all of the world today.  "Who is this Jesus?"  Come and see, and I promise you, your life will never be the same.   Jesus' words in John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  Let me leave you with this encouragement  Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

God's Judgment?

Listening to the news this morning and hearing them talk about the droughts and the suffering crops made me think about these verses - Lev 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; 4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.  -- Could the problems that we are facing in America be happening because God has taken His hand off of our country.  As we read through the history of the nation of Israel we see a cycle of Israel's disobedience and then God's judgment to bring them to repentance.  I can only share my opinion, and in my opinion it looks like America is following in the footsteps of the nation of Israel.  Should we then not expect the same response from God?  Whether this is the judgment of God or not, I can say this will all confidence - America it is time to turn back to God.  2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

New year, A Challenging Question.

Every January as the new year rolls around, I like to challenge our church with a vision for the upcoming year. As I prayed and asked the Lord for direction for 2012, the answer became clear as the Lord asked me what I wanted to see Kendale accomplish this year. More than anything, when 2012 is over and in the books I want people to be able to say that our church made a difference in their lives and in the work of the Lord. With that in mind, the vision became clear, and the challenge became clear. For 2012, we are asking ourselves the question "Are We Making a Difference". Our key verse for the year is Jude 1:22 "And of some have compassion, making a difference". In addition to the service opportunities offered through the church, we will be challenging our church with a task every week to make a difference in someones life. My sincere prayer through 2012 is that my life will make a difference and that our church will make a difference.

30 Days of Thanksgiving

With this being the month of Thanksgiving, I have set forth a challenge to our folks at Kendale Acres called the 30 Days of Thanksgiving. The challenge is to record something that they are thankful for each day of the month. By the end of the month we will have at least 30 things that we are thankful for. Honestly, we spend much time complaining about life, and little time being thankful. This will help us next time we are tempted to grumble, we can pull this list out and see how much we truly have to be thankful for. Would you think about joining in this challenge with us. God is so good and if we would just take a moment, we would find how much we truly have to be thankful for.

We have been in revival this week with Rev. John Johnson, Associate Pastor at Parker's Chapel FWB Church.  What a blessing these meetings were to my heart.  As a preacher, I spend my time in the word of God regularly, but it does not take the place of hearing the word of God preached.  I just pray that our people were as challenged as I was.  Something that Bro. John said that really stuck with me through the week was "God is the God of an open hand not a closed fist".  So many see God as this harsh dictator that is just waiting for us to mess up so He can punish us.  That is not the God we serve.  God wants a relationship with us.  Jesus says in Rev. 3:20 that He is standing at the door knocking wanting to come in and fellowship with us.  It is up to us to open that door and let Him in.  Do you have that fellowship?  If not, open the door today and let Him in.  It is a decision you will never regret.

Gettting Back to Normal

April 16, 2011 just before 3pm, the lights began to dim rapidly off and then on and an eerie feeling filled the air. Something wasn't right and in just a few moments it was obvious what that was. An ef3 tornado had Kendale Acres Church and our surrounding community in its cross hairs. I hunkered down in the bathroom and after about 30 seconds of listening to things pound against the parsonage and the sound of a freight train going overhead I emerge to find the landscape of our small community forever changed. Homes reduced to piles of rubble, others stripped of roofs and siding. I have never seen anything like it in all of my life. As I stepped out on the porch all I could smell was the scent of pine from all of the trees that were snapped in half just like toothpicks. We rushed from home to home to make sure everyone was ok and God's grace became more and more evident as homeowner after homeowner was accounted for. Many with scrapes and bruises, but all alive. Our neighborhood had been destroyed, but our faith was standing strong. In the days to follow we were able to see the community pull together in a way such as never seen before. As a church we found ourselves as the central outreach center for our area in the relief effort. It has brought us closer to our neighbors and it has allowed us to put our faith into action in a very new and real way. This event has not only changed the landscape forever, it has changed my outlook on our church forever. My prayer is that the Lord will help us be a community church, not just a church in the community. We ask you to please keep us in your prayers as we help our neighbors get their lives back to normal.