Last post

This is the final post on this blog.   Continue to follow the ministry happenings at our upgraded blog.  http://bbmi.wordpress.com

Give Thanks

“Here we are getting blessings from God day after day; yet how little praise and thanksgiving there is in the church of God. Your state is such that the least mercy you have is more than all the world besides. Thou, Christian, and the few brethren, divided heaven and earth among you! What hath God that He withholds form you? Sun, moon and stars are set up to give you light; sea and land have their treasures for your use; others are encroachers upon them; you are the rightful heirs to them. The angels, bad and good, minister unto you; the evil, against their will, are forced like scullions when they tempt you, to scour and brighten your graces, and make way for your greater comforts; the good angels are servants to your heavenly Father, and disdain not to carry you in their arms. Your God withholds not Himself from you; he is your portion– Father, Husband, Friend. God is His own happiness, and admits you to enjoy Him. Oh, what honor is this, for the subject to drink in his princes cup! ‘Thou shalt make them to drink of the river of thy pleasures.’ And all this is not the purchase of your sweat and blood; the feast is paid for by Another, only He expects your thanks to the Founder. No sin offering is imposed under the Gospel; thank offerings are all He looks for. ” -D.L. Moody

Safely Home

Another 22oo mile journey has been safely concluded. On the way we stopped by Hadley, Jackson, Locust and Newton. I had the chance to celebrate thanksgiving with most of my family and see some extended family members I haven’t seen since before I made my first journey to the north in 1995. I also had the chance to replace the brakes and rotors on our car while down there (this was a semi-planned maintenance- I decided I wanted to work in the warmer weather of North Carolina than on the frigid concrete of our own garage). While down there I was also able to do some tweaking and upgrading to the blog. I will be unveiling those improvements after Thanksgiving. All in all it was a very enjoyable and profitable trip. Thank you again for your prayers for us and our travels. God continues to bless the ministry and our family.

On the road again

We are once again traveling down the highway (though not at the precise moment I am typing this). We just concluded four days of meetings at the Baptist Church of Hadley and are now heading to North Carolina to spend some time with my family. We are planning to be in the Charlotte area until the 22nd, at which point we will make our journey back north. We intend to arrive back in the UP a couple days before Thanksgiving.

The meetings at Hadley seemed to go very well. The church was incredibly gracious to us, and appeared to be very receptive of the Word. I spent all day Sunday examining 2 Peter 3. Monday night we examined Romans 13:11-14. Tuesday and Wednesday evening we spent in 1 Thessalonians 5. Each night we considered the imminent return of Christ and the incredible eternal glories that God has prepared for His children. We examined the fact of the certain demise of all things. Most importantly, we considered the necessity of living differently and distinctly Christlike in this age. I believe the Christians were strengthened and provoked by God’s Word. Thanks again for your prayers for the preaching of the Word and our safety on the road.

Special meeting about the end of the world

Tomorrow we are departing the UP to head down state for several days of meetings. During those meetings we will be discussing the upcoming demise of the political, economic, social and physical structure of the earth. I will be speaking from Sunday to Wednesday at First Baptist Church of Hadley. The theme of those meetings will be “What to do about the end of the world.” We will be examining Scriptures to determine how Christians should be responding and acting as the return of Christ draws nearer. For those that know me, you would expect me to take an approach different from much of the popular preaching about end times. You would be very correct in that assumption. We will be briefly considering the timeline of future things, but the vast majority of our time will be spent examining the Christians duties in the church, to Christ, towards the unbelievers and in the heart as Christ’s return draws every closer. Your prayers as we travel and I preach are greatly appreciated. Please pray as well that the folks in Hadley will be challenged into greater Christlikeness through these meetings.

Copper Country Bible Church

I have great news to announce concerning the church in Hancock. As of last week, the board of Independent Bible Mission voted to appoint Kyle and Sarah Knell to the mission. Kyle will be moving up to Hancock to step in as pastor of Copper Country Bible Church. Beginning this month, Kyle will start the process of getting moved from Indiana and settled into the UP. Right now, I don’t know the timeline for the transition, but it will likely take several months. I will be continuing to provide pulpit fill throughout the transition process, providing back up to Kyle when he is unable to be in Hancock. Please pray for him and his family as this will be a big adjustment for all of them.

Here are several specific items for prayer:

• Kyle and the family as they prepare for the move
• Housing in Hancock for the Knell family
• Insight into the needs and possibilities of the church and its members
• Unity and followship in the church as they adjust to the new leadership
• A shared vision of what God can accomplish in the church and community under the leadership of the new pastor
• The hearts of the church and pastor will be quickly knit together
• Numerical and spiritual increase of the church

Sacrificial Love

The last part of the growth process in 2 Peter 1 is sacrificial love. This is the love that God has shown to us. This is the love that has been commanded of us over and over again as Christians. This is the love that we cannot live without. This is the love that we cannot please God without. This is the love that is the central part of our existence as Christians, as a church and as children of God.

This love is the kind of love that is committed to doing what is best for another no matter what it costs me or what I get in return. This is completely opposite to the worldly definition of love. The world defines loves based on the feelings I get from being around someone else. That is why we can so quickly fall in and out of love. That is why a 13 year old girl can talk about falling in love with one guy one week and another one two weeks later. She is responding to the world’s definition of love. She thinks, “He makes me feel great, so that must be true love.” or “He doesn’t make me feel so good, I must not love him anymore.” The really sad thing is that we as believers have bought this love, and we build our relationships in exactly the same way. I feel good around someone, so I love them. They do great things for me, I love them. I really enjoy spending time with them, I love them. Was that God’s kind of love? Did God say to Himself, “Those wicked, depraved, rebellious people sure do make me feel good, I love them.”? No, God made a commitment to a relationship with us that was going to be exercised for our benefit, no matter what the cost to Himself. That is the kind of love that we must have. That is kind of love you must have in your marriage, in your family, in your church, with your neighbors, friends and co workers. You must be committed to the others benefit no matter what the cost. You must be committed to a right relationship, no matter what you get out of it. You must have a committed love that is willing to pay the cost.

This love that we have to be developing is not love for those that are lovely. It is love for everyone, from the most wicked to the most wonderful. From the peaceful to the problematic. From the helpful to the harmful. We must be developing in each life, in this church as a whole a love that is willing love, no matter what the danger or the cost to yourself. Are you loving others sacrificially?

New addition to the ministry

I am pleased to announce the addition of another facet to the BodyBuilders Ministry. God has given to me a love for creation and a passion to communicate God’s glory as revealed through His creation. After much prayer and counsel, I am making myself available to churches for creation themed seminars. These additions are intended to enhance, not replace, the church helps ministry we are continuing to engage in. I am not a scientist, so the presentations will not be highly technical in nature. Rather, they are designed to easily inform and inspire the layman with the glory of God seen through His creation. Neither will they be focused on disproving evolution. Many other highly capable men have excellent ministries in which they show the many problems with evolutionary theory. My focus and goal is to show believers the wonders of creation and how they point very clearly to an infinite Creator who has revealed Himself to us in His Word. The creation ministry is modeled around Psalm 19—God as revealed in His marvelous creation, God’s revelation through His perfect Word, and our necessary response to these wonderful revelations of God. I believe this kind of creation ministry is needed and could be of great benefit to local churches in encouraging believers, strengthening their trust in the Word, challenging them to walk in greater obedience to their marvelous God, and in exalting the glories of our infinite God.

You can find more information about these seminars by clicking this link: Creation Seminars Brochure

Add Familial Love to Piety

After adding piety to our faith, familial love is the next thing in the list of Christian character we must be developing. This brotherly kindness is a love like that we have for our own brothers and sisters, or our own parents. This is a love that is not stopped by petty disagreements. This is a love that will weather great storms together. This is a love based on a knowledge that comes from experience together. This love is built on the foundation of these other stages. This is a love that has come from serving together, this is love that has come from resolving conflicts with one another, this is a love that comes from facing trials together, this is a love that comes from growing together. This is a wonderful love that each of us should be developing for our fellow believers. This family love should be constantly growing. We should each have as our goal to love one another as the brothers and sisters that we are. This is not some make believe, pasty love. 1 Peter 1:22 tells us that our love should not be unfeigned. That is, without any acting. The word feigned comes from the same word that is used for the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. Our family love has to be a reality. We can’t imitate this type of love. It is one that has to be true in our lives, or as soon as difficulties come or conflicts arise that love will fall apart and we will be divided. This morning, strive to grow into a family relationship with one another. As we grow as a church, some of your closest friends should be developed here in this congregation. As we struggle together as a church we should be drawing into a single family that comes closer together in hard times, not farther apart. When this love is practiced, it will have some distinct characteristics. In brotherly kindness there is no deception, but honesty and transparency. There is no false dealings, or anything that would wrongfully take from some one else. Instead, there is a generosity that would much rather give more than necessary than take something to someone else’s hurt. This brotherly love also is careful with those who are weaker. Not doing anything that would hint at or cause a injury to others. Instead, brotherly love is very careful to go the extra mile with a weaker brother so that we do nothing to hinder them.

The opposite of this brotherly love is hate. Hate in the Bible is not limited to a raging dislike that refuses to speak to or always speaks evil of someone. Hate in the Bible points to an opposition against someone. We hate someone when we harbor ill will against someone, when we hold onto to hurts done by them, when we refuse to treat them with Christian love. Hatred is the absence of this brotherly kindness. Brotherly kindness is not vengeful, nor is it bitter. Brotherly kindness is kind, tenderhearted and forgiving. How is your relationship with others in your church?

Faith

“Faith is a living well‑founded confidence in the grace of God, so perfectly certain that it would die a thousand times rather than surrender its conviction. Such confidence and personal knowledge of divine grace makes it possessor joyful, bold, full of warm affection toward God and all created things, all of which the Holy Spirit works in faith.” – Martin Luther