God is still in the soul saving business

We had a great trip last week in Branson, the drive home was a bit longer than usual though. Angela noted that we could have flown to London in the same amount of time, it was close at least.

I am so excited to tell you that God still answers prayers if you were wandering about that. We have been praying for Sungbum Oh the Korean man who has been coming to church with his family for the last year to be saved. Yesterday I was able to lead him to Christ in his home. He was very ready to trust Jesus and his wife cried as he did. It is wonderful that God would love someone so much that He would send them around the world just to hear the gospel.

This encourages me even more to think about our Wednesday 7:00 salvation prayer meeting. Each Wednesday we meet in the Auditorium to pray for the lost. Sungbum has been on that prayer list since we started it, and now we can claim him as an answer to prayer. How exciting it is going to be to continue to check off the names of individuals that we are praying for as God convicts their hearts and they trust Him for their salvation. Don't miss out on being part of this important work.

another great Sunday

God is certainly good to us here at Beth Haven Baptist Church. We have had a great December with wonderful services and yesterday the choir did a fantastic job with the Cantata. It is a blessing to a church to have a sweet spirit such as we do. I will be venturing out this week and taking my family to Branson, MO. for Christmas. Pray for all those who will be traveling over this holiday, as well as for all our Missionaries that will be away from family once again.

Bro. James Wood took a slight turn for the worse yesterday and they had to put him back on the ventilator, continue to keep the Woods family in your prayers. I will be back on line next week, until then have a Merry Christmas.

When did Christmas begin?

this time of year there always seems to be a question among some of the faithful about the authenticity of Christmas being in December. While I do not wish to get into a quarrel about such a thing i would say that this is a great time of year to be a witness of the fact of Jesus Christ. Many are more open to the gospel at this time of year than any other. The following is an article that I found interesting on the subject though so I wanted to pass it on to you. Again, this is for though fodder, not for argument. So enjoy and have a Merry Christmas. I will post again after a brief Christmas break.

How December 25 Became Christmas
by Andrew McGowan

On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods—these all characterize the feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 come to be associated with Jesus’ birthday?The Bible offers few clues: Celebrations of Jesus’ Nativity are not mentioned in the Gospels or Acts; the date is not given, not even the time of year. The biblical reference to shepherds tending their flocks at night when they hear the news of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8) might suggest the spring lambing season; in the cold month of December, on the other hand, sheep might well have been corralled. Yet most scholars would urge caution about extracting such a precise but incidental detail from a narrative whose focus is theological rather than calendrical.The extrabiblical evidence from the first and second century is equally spare: There is no mention of birth celebrations in the writings of early Christian writers such as Irenaeus (c. 130–200) or Tertullian (c. 160–225). Origen of Alexandria (c. 165–264) goes so far as to mock Roman celebrations of birth anniversaries, dismissing them as “pagan” practices—a strong indication that Jesus’ birth was not marked with similar festivities at that place and time.1 As far as we can tell, Christmas was not celebrated at all at this point.This stands in sharp contrast to the very early traditions surrounding Jesus’ last days. Each of the Four Gospels provides detailed information about the time of Jesus’ death. According to John, Jesus is crucified just as the Passover lambs are being sacrificed. This would have occurred on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nisan, just before the Jewish holiday began at sundown (considered the beginning of the 15th day because in the Hebrew calendar, days begin at sundown). In Matthew, Mark and Luke, however, the Last Supper is held after sundown, on the beginning of the 15th. Jesus is crucified the next morning—still, the 15th.aEaster, a much earlier development than Christmas, was simply the gradual Christian reinterpretation of Passover in terms of Jesus’ Passion. Its observance could even be implied in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:7–8: “Our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the festival...”) ; it was certainly a distinctively Christian feast by the mid-second century C.E., when the apocryphal text known as the Epistle to the Apostles has Jesus instruct his disciples to “make commemoration of [his] death, that is, the Passover.”Jesus’ ministry, miracles, Passion and Resurrection were often of most interest to first- and early-second- century C.E. Christian writers. But over time, Jesus’ origins would become of increasing concern. We can begin to see this shift already in the New Testament. The earliest writings—Paul and Mark—make no mention of Jesus’ birth. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke provide well-known but quite different accounts of the event—although neither specifies a date. In the second century C.E., further details of Jesus’ birth and childhood are related in apocryphal writings such as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Proto-Gospel of James.b These texts provide everything from the names of Jesus’ grandparents to the details of his education — but not the date of his birth.Finally, in about 200 AD, a Christian teacher in Egypt makes reference to the date Jesus was born. According to Clement of Alexandria, several different days had been proposed by various Christian groups. Surprising as it may seem, Clement doesn’t mention December 25 at all. Clement writes: “There are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord’s birth, but also the day; and they say that it took place in the 28th year of Augustus, and in the 25th day of [the Egyptian month] Pachon [May 20 in our calendar]... And treating of His Passion, with very great accuracy, some say that it took place in the 16th year of Tiberius, on the 25th of Phamenoth [March 21]; and others on the 25th of Pharmuthi [April 21] and others say that on the 19th of Pharmuthi [April 15] the Savior suffered. Further, others say that He was born on the 24th or 25th of Pharmuthi [April 20 or 21].”2Clearly there was great uncertainty, but also a considerable amount of interest, in dating Jesus’ birth in the late second century. By the fourth century, however, we find references to two dates that were widely recognized—and now also celebrated—as Jesus’ birthday: December 25 in the western Roman Empire and January 6 in the East (especially in Egypt and Asia Minor). The modern Armenian church continues to celebrate Christmas on January 6; for most Christians, however, December 25 would prevail, while January 6 eventually came to be known as the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the arrival of the magi in Bethlehem. The period between became the holiday season later known as the 12 days of Christmas.The earliest mention of December 25 as Jesus’ birthday comes from a mid-fourth-century Roman almanac that lists the death dates of various Christian bishops and martyrs. The first date listed, December 25, is marked: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae: “Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea.”3 In about 400 AD, Augustine of Hippo mentions a local dissident Christian group, the Donatists, who apparently kept Christmas festivals on December 25, but refused to celebrate the Epiphany on January 6, regarding it as an innovation. Since the Donatist group only emerged during the persecution under Diocletian in 312 AD, and then remained stubbornly attached to the practices of that moment in time, they seem to represent an older North African Christian tradition.In the East, January 6 was at first not associated with the magi alone, but with the Christmas story as a whole.So, almost 300 years after Jesus was born, we finally find people observing his birth in midwinter. But how had they settled on the dates December 25 and January 6?There are two theories today: one extremely popular, the other less often heard outside scholarly circles (though far more ancient).4The most loudly touted theory about the origins of the Christmas date(s) is that it was borrowed from pagan celebrations. The Romans had their mid-winter Saturnalia festival in late December; barbarian peoples of northern and western Europe kept holidays at similar times. To top it off, in 274 AD, the Roman emperor Aurelian established a feast of the birth of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun), on December 25. Christmas, the argument goes, is really a spin-off from these pagan solar festivals. According to this theory, early Christians deliberately chose these dates to encourage the spread of Christmas and Christianity throughout the Roman world: If Christmas looked like a pagan holiday, more pagans would be open to both the holiday and the God whose birth it celebrated.Despite its popularity today, this theory of Christmas’s origins has its problems. It is not found in any ancient Christian writings, for one thing. Christian authors of the time do note a connection between the solstice and Jesus’ birth: The church father Ambrose (c. 339–397), for example, described Christ as the true sun, who outshone the fallen gods of the old order. But early Christian writers never hint at any recent calendrical engineering; they clearly don’t think the date was chosen by the church. Rather they see the coincidence as a providential sign, as natural proof that God had selected Jesus over the false pagan gods.It’s not until the 12th century that we find the first suggestion that Jesus’ birth celebration was deliberately set at the time of pagan feasts. A marginal note on a manuscript of the writings of the Syriac biblical commentator Dionysius bar-Salibi states that in ancient times the Christmas holiday was actually shifted from January 6 to December 25 so that it fell on the same date as the pagan Sol Invictus holiday.5 In the 18th and 19th centuries, Bible scholars spurred on by the new study of comparative religions latched on to this idea.6 They claimed that because the early Christians didn’t know when Jesus was born, they simply assimilated the pagan solstice festival for their own purposes, claiming it as the time of the Messiah’s birth and celebrating it accordingly.More recent studies have shown that many of the holiday’s modern trappings do reflect pagan customs borrowed much later, as Christianity expanded into northern and western Europe. The Christmas tree, for example, has been linked with late medieval druidic practices. This has only encouraged modern audiences to assume that the date, too, must be pagan.There are problems with this popular theory, however, as many scholars recognize. Most significantly, the first mention of a date for Christmas (c. 200) and the earliest celebrations that we know about (c. 250–300) come in a period when Christians were not borrowing heavily from pagan traditions of such an obvious character.Granted, Christian belief and practice were not formed in isolation. Many early elements of Christian worship—including eucharistic meals, meals honoring martyrs and much early Christian funerary art—would have been quite comprehensible to pagan observers. Yet, in the first few centuries AD, the persecuted Christian minority was greatly concerned with distancing itself from the larger, public pagan religious observances, such as sacrifices, games and holidays. This was still true as late as the violent persecutions of the Christians conducted by the Roman emperor Diocletian between 303 and 312 AD.This would change only after Constantine converted to Christianity. From the mid-fourth century on, we do find Christians deliberately adapting and Christianizing pagan festivals. A famous proponent of this practice was Pope Gregory the Great, who, in a letter written in 601 AD. to a Christian missionary in Britain, recommended that local pagan temples not be destroyed but be converted into churches, and that pagan festivals be celebrated as feasts of Christian martyrs. At this late point, Christmas may well have acquired some pagan trappings. But we don’t have evidence of Christians adopting pagan festivals in the third century, at which point dates for Christmas were established. Thus, it seems unlikely that the date was simply selected to correspond with pagan solar festivals.The December 25 feast seems to have existed before 312—before Constantine and his conversion, at least. As we have seen, the Donatist Christians in North Africa seem to have know it from before that time. Furthermore, in the mid- to late fourth century, church leaders in the eastern Empire concerned themselves not with introducing a celebration of Jesus’ birthday, but with the addition of the December date to their traditional celebration on January 6.7There is another way to account for the origins of Christmas on December 25: Strange as it may seem, the key to dating Jesus’ birth may lie in the dating of Jesus’ death at Passover. This view was first suggested to the modern world by French scholar Louis Duchesne in the early 20th century and fully developed by American Thomas Talley in more recent years.8 But they were certainly not the first to note a connection between the traditional date of Jesus’ death and his birth.Around 200 AD. Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan (the day of the crucifixion according to the Gospel of John) in the year Jesus died was equivalent to March 25 in the Roman (solar) calendar.9 March 25 is, of course, nine months before December 25; it was later recognized as the Feast of the Annunciation— the commemoration of Jesus’ conception.10 Thus, Jesus was believed to have been conceived and crucified on the same day of the year. Exactly nine months later, Jesus was born, on December 25.dThis idea appears in an anonymous Christian treatise titled On Solstices and Equinoxes, which appears to come from fourth-century North Africa. The treatise states: “Therefore our Lord was conceived on the eighth of the kalends of April in the month of March [March 25], which is the day of the passion of the Lord and of his conception. For on that day he was conceived on the same he suffered.”11 Based on this, the treatise dates Jesus’ birth to the winter solstice.Augustine, too, was familiar with this association. In On the Trinity (c. 399–419) he writes: “For he [Jesus] is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since. But he was born, according to tradition, upon December the 25th.”12In the East, too, the dates of Jesus’ conception and death were linked. But instead of working from the 14th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, the easterners used the 14th of the first spring month (Artemisios) in their local Greek calendar—April 6 to us. April 6 is, of course, exactly nine months before January 6—the eastern date for Christmas. In the East too, we have evidence that April was associated with Jesus’ conception and crucifixion. Bishop Epiphanius of Salamis writes that on April 6, “The lamb was shut up in the spotless womb of the holy virgin, he who took away and takes away in perpetual sacrifice the sins of the world.”13 Even today, the Armenian Church celebrates the Annunciation in early April (on the 7th, not the 6th) and Christmas on January 6.eThus, we have Christians in two parts of the world calculating Jesus’ birth on the basis that his death and conception took place on the same day (March 25 or April 6) and coming up with two close but different results (December 25 and January 6).Connecting Jesus’ conception and death in this way will certainly seem odd to modern readers, but it reflects ancient and medieval understandings of the whole of salvation being bound up together. One of the most poignant expressions of this belief is found in Christian art. In numerous paintings of the angel’s Annunciation to Mary—the moment of Jesus’ conception—the baby Jesus is shown gliding down from heaven on or with a small cross, a visual reminder that the conception brings the promise of salvation through Jesus’ death.The notion that creation and redemption should occur at the same time of year is also reflected in ancient Jewish tradition, recorded in the Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud preserves a dispute between two early-second- century AD. rabbis who share this view, but disagree on the date: Rabbi Eliezer states: “In Nisan the world was created; in Nisan the Patriarchs were born; on Passover Isaac was born...and in Nisan they [our ancestors] will be redeemed in time to come.” (The other rabbi, Joshua, dates these same events to the following month, Tishri.)14 Thus, the dates of Christmas and Epiphany may well have resulted from Christian theological reflection on such chronologies: Jesus would have been conceived on the same date he died, and born nine months later.15In the end we are left with a question: How did December 25 become Christmas? We cannot be entirely sure. Elements of the festival that developed from the fourth century until modern times may well derive from pagan traditions. Yet the actual date might really derive more from Judaism—from Jesus’ death at Passover, and from the rabbinic notion that great things might be expected, again and again, at the same time of the year—than from paganism. Then again, in this notion of cycles and the return of God’s redemption, we may perhaps also be touching upon something that the pagan Romans who celebrated Sol Invictus, and many other peoples since, would have understood and claimed for their own too.16Notes1. Origen, Homily on Leviticus 8.2. Clement, Stromateis 1.21.145. In addition, Christians in Clement’s native Egypt seem to have known a commemoration of Jesus’ baptism—sometimes understood as the moment of his divine choice, and hence as an alternate “incarnation” story—on the same date (Stromateis 1.21.146). See further on this point Thomas J. Talley, Origins of the Liturgical Year, 2nd ed. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), pp. 118–120, drawing on Roland H. Bainton, “Basilidian Chronology and New Testament Interpretation,” Journal of Biblical Literature 42 (1923), pp. 81–134; and now especially Gabriele Winkler, “The Appearance of the Light at the Baptism of Jesus and the Origins of the Feast of the Epiphany,” in Maxwell Johnson, ed., Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Liturgical Year (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000), pp. 291–347.3. The Philocalian Calendar.4. Scholars of liturgical history in the English-speaking world are particularly skeptical of the “solstice” connection; see Susan K. Roll, “The Origins of Christmas: The State of the Question,” in Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Liturgical Year (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000), pp. 273–290, especially pp. 289–290.5. A gloss on a manuscript of Dionysius Bar Salibi, d. 1171; see Talley, Origins, pp. 101–102.6. Prominent among these was Paul Ernst Jablonski; on the history of scholarship see especially Roll, “The Origins of Christmas,” pp. 277–283.7. For example, Gregory of Nazianzen, Oratio 38; John Chrysostom, In Diem Natalem.8. Louis Duchesne, Origines du culte Chrétien, 5th ed. (Paris: Thorin et Fontemoing, 1925), pp. 275–279; and Talley, Origins.9. Tertullian, Adversus Iudaeos 8.10. There are other relevant texts for this element of argument, including Hippolytus and the (pseudo-Cyprianic) De pascha computus; see Talley, Origins, pp. 86, 90–91.11. De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis domini nostri iesu christi et iohannis baptistae.12. Augustine, Sermon 202.13. Epiphanius is quoted in Talley, Origins, p. 98.14. b. Rosh Hashanah 10b–11a.15. Talley, Origins, pp. 81–82.16. On the two theories as false alternatives, see Roll, “Origins of Christmas.”a. See Jonathan Klawans, “Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?” BR 17:05.b. See the following BR articles: David R. Cartlidge, “The Christian Apocrypha: Preserved in Art,” BR 13:03; Ronald F. Hock, “The Favored One,” BR 17:03; and Charles W. Hedrick, “The 34 Gospels,” BR 18:03.c. For more on dating the year of Jesus’ birth, see Leonara Neville, “Fixing the Millennium,& rd; AO 03:01.d. The ancients were familiar with the 9-month gestation period based on the observance of women’s menstrual cycles, pregnancies and miscarriages.e. In the West (and eventually everywhere), the Easter celebration was later shifted from the actual day to the following Sunday. The insistence of the eastern Christians in keeping Easter on the actual 14th day caused a major debate within the church, with the easterners sometimes referred to as the Quartodecimans, or “Fourteenthers.”Andrew McGowanWarden and President of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne, Australia, Andrew McGowan’s work on early Christianity includes God in Early Christian Thought (Brill, 2009) and Ascetic Eucharists: Food and Drink in Early Christian Ritual Meals (Oxford, 1999).Jay A. Gainer34 Halsey Court Plattsburgh, NY 12901

finally

I apologize for my lack of diligence in the last few months of updating the blog post. I have in fact been spending all my spare computer time learning how to publish web sites. I must confess that it has felt much like pouring water on granite as a good friend of mine would say, however i believe we are over the exceptionally hard part. I hope that you have found the new site easy to navigate and informational. I also hope that you take advantage of the messages that I am posting after each service. to listen to them all you have to do is click the little arrow at the end of the title.

We have had such a crazy last few weeks with people in the hospitals. It seems that we may go for a month or more with no one, but once it starts it is like a flood gate. Praise the Lord for His grace during those times. Thankfully all but James Woods has made a recovery. James is looking better though and we will continue to pray for Him. Please pray for Oleta as this has been a very long and tiring trial for her as well.

I intend on starting back up with our study that we were doing on Ecclesiastes after Christmas, so stay tuned for that.

Last night in the service Tom Swyear joined the church. Tom has been coming for about a month now. He was saved and baptized in Guam when in the service. The missionary that led him to Christ was Ray Faggan. Bro. Faggan grew up only about 40 miles from where I grew up, though a few years earlier than I did. Bro. Faggan did a wonderful job in Guam for many years and it is neat to see that the fruit of his labor is still going forth. I hope that some day the same can be said of you and I.

God is good

this week I had the greatest hopes of being more faithful in my blog, then on Monday I got a visit by someone who wanted to pay off the building, after that the week has been a blur. Sure enough our Building got paid off, PRAISE THE LORD! Last night we had the very first service ever for Beth Haven Baptist Church in our own debt free building.

ten years ago after the tornado the men of the church met on this site and had a serious meeting. Bro. Ivan was very discouraged and mentioned that he didn't feel that they could go on. Bro. Frank Fowler spoke up and encouraged all of them by saying that we have to go on and we will do it by faith. That gave the men strength to go on. On Monday the pay off for this building was given in memory of Frank Fowler. Ten years later by faith we have a debt free building that is over two and a half times larger than the one that blew away, many souls have been saved and lives changed as a result of the ministry of Beth Haven Baptist Church, and we have a great vision for the future and what God wants to accomplish through this church. It will always have to be done the same way, we will do it by faith.

apply what you have.

Ec 1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Solomon made a great mistake here in his own life. Instead of examining his life from God's prospective, he examined it from a fleshly perspective. He became proud in his wisdom, rather than humble that it was given from God. Instead of searching out the things of God by wisdom, he choose to search out the things of the world, to know madness and folly, as if he because God had given him wisdom would be able to handle these things without them harming him. He fell victim to the same folly that others do because as he pointed out in Pr 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?.

Knowing God's Word, and thereby God's wisdom does not keep the consequences of sin from occurring if you meddle with foolishness. Instead Solomon found sorrow and pain. Trying to mix the Bible and the World is like mixing oil and water, the two don't go together. The reason Solomon says that in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow is because once you know the things of God, your conscience accuses you when you meddle in the things of this world. Solomon knew that the things that he was doing were wrong, and he knew that the consequences would be bad, yet he did them anyway. His wisdom told him that he would be sorrowful and it was right. The admonition in this is not avoid wisdom and knowledge, it is be faithful in the wisdom and knowledge that you have or you will produce sorrow in your life.

how to have peace and joy

Ec 1:12 ¶ I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

These verses demonstrate the folly of seeking for peace and joy outside of the Lord. Solomon had been given all wisdom and yet he sought out all things done under heaven. this search yielded nothing but sorrow for his soul. Our society pushes young people to experience everything the world has to offer, and the sad truth is that most things the world has to offer will bring them sorrow. I have heard parents accused of harming their children by not allowing them to do one thing or another. The lesson that we see here from Solomon is that abstaining from worldly pursuits will keep us from sorrow not hinder us.

The great truth of this passage is that God had given Solomon everything that he needed to be happy and successful, yet Solomon was not satisfied with God's provision of wisdom and wealth. The key to peace and joy in life is found in this thought that Solomon rejected dispite his wisdom, that godliness and contentment therewith are all you need. 1Ti 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. Paul later says 1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. Jesus in the Gospels tells us not to worry about the things that the world seeks after, Luke 12 is a great passage on contentment, instead we are to seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

It is telling that the wisest man that has ever lived did not know this without experiencing the trouble of violating these principles. you and I are no wiser than Solomon, but we have the benefit of two things. First, we have the account of his folly so that we can learn from his mistakes and walk wisely. Secondly, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to speak to our hearts and guide us into all truth. What a great blessing to know that in these things we can have peace and joy in our lives.

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days, Angela and I took a couple days the first of this week to get away and rest. We went over into Arkansas to where we had never been before and did some diamond mining, (to no avail). We had a great time but are glad to be back.

Jo Ellen is back in the Hospital, and Mr. Biggalo is going home today.

We had a great time with the Witness group here last night, they did a great job.

New and improved

Ec 1:9 ¶ The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

It is awesome to think about what Solomon says here, there is nothing new under the sun. At times we are amazed with some new invention that revolutionizes our life and it would seem that this is indeed a new thing, but in reality it is just another way to do the same thing we have always done.

Edison didn't invent light, he didn't even invent the ability to have light at night, any more than the man who made the first candle. The computer you are on right now was just a new way to record information and the printing press was just a faster way to copy letters. All new ways, but the same old things.

The truth is that the old nature of man keeps right on pulling us into the same old sins. There is nothing that has been introduced to our generation that hasn't made sin more accessible and easy. The same old sins keep us bound and we keep looking for new ways to improve the same things we have always done.

The key to life is not finding something new, it is finding something old. To many people are looking for the next big thing in church, or life. They are missing the simple truth that godliness with contentment is great gain. Paul said it well in Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. If we would learn to just abide in Him, instead of running after everything new life would be much better.

here we go again!

Ec 1:4 ¶ One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

Solomon here takes not of the never ending process of life, it is never finished. If my wife were writing this she would say one load comes out of the washer and another goes in, my work is never done. The sun never stops, the wind never stops, the rivers keep running and what are they all accomplishing. No matter how much I do I never make any progress. Oh, the utter futility of life without God.

I often wander how someone copes who does not have the Lord. Many people seem to just work so that they can play with no real direction for their lives. What ever happens in life happens and they at best hope to get to the place in their life that they can retire and stop working for no apparent purpose other than to stop working. Life without Christ is aimless and futile.

It is wonderful to have a purpose and goal in life as a believer, to get up every day with the goal of serving the Lord, and pleasing Him. How great to meet each day with a purpose and to face life with the promise of greater blessings to come. I tell you this Christian life is anything but mundane and futile, it is the greatest adventure that you can have in this world to walk with God. He will take you places and show you things that you never imagined and all the while you will find that those things that He sustains are glorious rather than vain.

what will last?

Ec 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

What a profound question. If you remember yesterday Solomon was looking back at his life and saying that it was all emptiness and nothing. Now He asks this question, what will be the sum total of all the things that you have done in your life? When you face God and you look back will your life have counted for anything, or will it have been wasted in vanity?

Someone once said, "Only one life twill soon be past, only whats done for Christ will last." How true it is that nothing done in our own power lasts. If your family is not established by the wisdom of God it will fall apart, if your work is outside the realm of His control it will amount to nothing, if your life's pursuits are beyond the will of God they will amount only to vanity. The most amazing accomplishments in this world are soon forgotten, we remember only the most relatively recent things. The largest buildings still crumble. Yet, we may do things of true lasting value, if we are willing to subject ourselves to His Word and will for our lives. The things that we can take with us into eternity are not gold and silver, but are souls and service from a pure motive of love for the Lord.

a life of vanities

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age. It is a wonderful book of wisdom and insight into the heart of a man who was looking back at his life and trying to warn us of the failures of bad decisions that he had made. In some ways the book of Ecclesiastes is a dark book, but it would be wrong to think that it is a hopeless book. this book is full of nuggets of wisdom and spiritual insights that if we are careful to examine will prove to be full of help to our souls. over the next period of time I am going to be giving a daily devotion from this book in a verse by verse manner, it may not be exhaustive, but I hope that it will be helpful.

the word vanity is used in this book 37 times and it is used to represent the fruitless attempt of man to find purpose and direction in his life apart from God. The word vanity means empty, worthless, conceited and an inflated ego. The word vanity is used almost 100 times in the Bible and is never used in any positive sense. Consider the sense of the writer here as he cries out after a life so filled with promise, and yet so wasted in this world. He looks back on all of his attempts to satisfy himself, and a life of giving himself to every pleasure known to man and his only cry is that it was all empty and worthless. What a sad testimony of your life. Many people I fear will find the end of their lives to be with the same testimony. It is so important to face every day in the light of God's will for you and to seek His purpose to that instead of Solomon's testimony you and I might give Paul's 2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

catching up

I honestly thought once we got through the missions trip to England things would slow down. Well a missions trip to Stratford, a funeral, a wedding, and a million other things to do they still haven't. turns out keeping up a daily blog is stunningly difficult, but we will press on and hope to get it down eventually.

Since last Saturday I have had the blessing of leading two people to Christ. The second yesterday, my wife's uncle Ted. In studying for the advanced personal evangelism course that I will be teaching in August I came across an article describing a presentation of the gospel. It was unlike anything I had seen before, and I was intrigued.

The presentation relied on I Peter 2:21-25, "1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

Having entered into a conversation already with a Lady last Saturday and finding ourselves at a familiar crossroads, namely "I have done that a thousand times" I was impressed to venture into this passage. pointing out that verse 21 tells us that Christ suffered and left us an example to follow, we looked at that example in the following verses. Obviously we cannot follow the example in verse 22, since we have sin. We also cannot follow the example in the first part of verse 23 since we retaliate against others who attack us. However, in the end of verse 23 we find an example we can follow, that we also can commit ourselves to Him that judgeth righteously. Verse 24 is the key verse in this, as you read that verse to them, ask them this question. "where are our sins?" the answer is very clear, they are on Jesus Christ according to the Scripture. The next question is very personal, "Where are your sins?" It is at this point that you should be prepared to hear a very long explanation of all things they have done. Let them finish, don't interrupt or take part in the conversation until they are through. When they stop, tell them "that is very interesting, but I think you may have misunderstood my question." re-read the verse and ask again, "where are your sins?" both times the individuals stopped and with stark realization that they had been trusting in their own works said, they are still on me aren't they.

Upon this realization I asked if they would like to put them on Christ, and they were ready to receive Him. I took them over to Romans 10, and explained that all they had to do was to call on Him as Lord, believing in His Resurrection from the dead. The boss is always responsible, accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour is putting your sins on Him where they need to be.

It was a great blessing to see these two folks trust Christ. I hope that you can use these scriptures to see others follow Him as well.

back to buisness

I think that I am finally getting back to normal, it only took a week. We are looking forward to some exciting things coming up in the next few weeks. First we are having our teacher training conference this Saturday. I am looking forward to this time, it has been a few years since I did my last conference but during the time I was doing these training conferences I did about one a week for almost a year and a half, so I am hoping that it is like riding a bike.

Next week we will be heading out to Stratford, Tx to fix the siding on the building out there. I am not sure how many will be going, but I have had several men speak to me about the trip in the last few days. This will be a good missions adventure as well. This ministry is a mission work of our church and it will be good for our men to go out and see first hand what is going on there, and we will be able to pray better for the work.

In August we are going to have VBS out in Stratford, last year we had a high night in our 20's with 7 children and 1 adult woman trusting Christ as their saviour. It will be good to see what God will do this year.

a great loss

coming home we were greated with sad news right away, our beloved Ladine Kettler was given only hours to live and she indeed passed this past Saturday. Sister Kettler was a blessing to me and our church, she was always joyful, and loved the Lord greatly. In November she had a stroke and never fully recovered from it's effects but she also never lost her smile and love for the Lord. Each time I visited her wether in the hospital or at home she was always excited to see her pastor.

The funeral will be tomorow at 10:00 AM, where we will say our good buys and celebrate her life and love for the Lord. Her son Larry told me today that as he was talking to the grandchildren the common theme was that each of them knew that they were the special one to her. Sister Ladine had the wonderful gift of making everyone around her feel loved and special. What a blessing it would be if each of us would take the time to take interest in those around us so that they felt special as well.

Home at last

It was a great trip, with everyone having a great time, and accomplishing a huge amount of work for the Gossmeyers. And now it is time for recovery. I can honestly say that I was glad to go and I was glad to get home. We got into the airport in OKC at 4:30, and by 6:30 I was in bed asleep. Over the next few days I will be posting some photo's of our trip, and also some notes about things that were learned.

Tonight we have an independance day fellowship at the Fellins starts at 6:30 pm. if you have questions about what to bring call Bro. Dennis. I will be there and look forward to answering questions and sharing stories of the trip.

Saturday is the monthly Prayer breakfast, then next week it is back to normal for a while.

I also want to say thanks to all those who took watch over the ministries of the church while we were gone. If we don't see you before we will see you Sunday.

another beautiful day in Cornwall

We have just ended our last full day in Cornwall, tomorrow we will put out a few more booklets and load up just after lunch to head back to London. by the end of our trip I believe we will have put out around 7,000 booklets. it is going slower the last few days since we are doing smaller villages.

Speaking to Bro. Gossmeyer he has said that on a good day he can get out about 200-250 booklets. remember putting them out here is not like in Oklahoma where the land is pretty flat, these cities are all built on large hills and it is not laid out the same either the roads wind around and the houses may be behind one another or up an alley way.

Basically we have been able to do in the week we were here what it would take Bro. Gossmeyer 7 full weeks of going out every day, which of course is not usually possible. In reality we were able to do what would have taken him anywhere from 3-5 months to do. what a shot in the arm.

One of the greatest miracles is that for the whole time we have been here it has rained only once, and that was on Sunday morning when we were in services. the people here are shocked that it hasn't rained on us. God has cleared the way for us to maximize our time here.

Everyone is doing well, and has had a great time. I believe that it has been a real blessing to the Gosmeyers as well, and the testimonies each night show that those who have come have a new found love and respect for the work here as well as renewing their relationship with our missionaries.

continue to pray for us as we travel to London tomorrow, we will take a look around there on Wednesday and then head back early Thursday morning for home.

what a week

We have had a blur of a week. I apologize for not updating the blog sooner, but we haven't had access to the Internet until now. We got to London on Wednesday morning and had a good day traveling down to Cornwall. We stopped in Bristol at the Muller homes and museum, that was such a blessing to see. then it was on to church in Exiter.

On Thursday every one was jet lagged but we started the work we came for and assembled the books and tracts for distribution as well as getting a good start on distribution.

Each day we spend a good portion of time out putting the booklets out and then we go and see some sites. In the evenings we have Bro. Gosmeyer bring a devotion to the group and then we give testimonies about what God has been doing. Already God has spoken to many about areas in their lives.

On Saturday evening we helped with the church float in the local parade. We won first place for floats, and got to get the word out in the community about the church at the same time.

Today we had some great services with the church here, and this afternoon the young people canvased a nearby village while the adults caught up on some much needed rest.

All together we have put out 5,000 booklets so far, with two good days of distribution yet to go. On Tuesday afternoon we will head up to London and take Wednesday to look around. It has been a great trip so far, continue to pray for our work and safety.

I'm going on a trip

I appolagize for missing the last couple of days, getting ready for our trip to England have been crazy. I am excited and everyone that is going that I have talked to is excited as well. We have been preparing the children for the trip and today we are packing everyone up to go. You know I cannot help but think as we prepare for this trip, about the preperations that each of us must make for Heaven. We are getting ready to take a 10 day trip to England, and we have spent months planning and preparing and anticipationg for all the things that we may need. We have dreamed and imagined about all the things that we will do, and how much fun it will be. and that is only for a 10 day trip to another country. Soon everyone will be taking a much greater trip into eternity. What if each person put as much effort in preperation for that as they would for a trip just out of town. we would be telling our friends and neighbors, everyone we have seen lately we have told, "oh, we are getting ready to go to England!" What if we were to do the same thing about our trip to Heaven? Things would sure be different.

Bro. Ivan seems to be feeling better, I had a good talk with him this morning. Pray that the stent will fix what has been ailing him. Other than that, everyone else seems to be the same.

Tomorow is the last fund raiser of the year and the kids will be washing up the cars, it all starts at 9am so bring your car on down and help them go on the mission trip and to camp.

the blessing of children

Ps. 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. I heard from Cassandra Schrader today and the LORD took care of the birth of the child and she is fine. Her name is Jaden Harjo, and they said she is just fine. It seems that many in our day have adopted unscriptural philosophies in many areas. One of those areas is concerning children. Many have bought into the thought that they need more things, thus they must have fewer children since children cost more money and prohibit them from enjoying life. It seems that they miss the truth of God's Word that children are a blessing. Not only that, the first command that was ever given by God was to be fruitful and multiply. God intended us to have children and to raise them up for His honor and glory. Our family is our first mission field. I am not saying that everyone should have a dozen kids, but we should be more sensitive to God's will for us than that of our secular society. The fact is that the decline in the size of the family has mirrored the decline in concern for the lost among many. As families have become more and more focused on possessions and personal freedom for dad and mom, they have become less interested in reaching out to others. God help us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to do His will.

I also saw Ladine Ketler today and she is in quite a bit of pain. She has developed pleurisy which is when fluid gets in the lining around the lungs, I have had this before myself and it is very painful. she was however especially talkative today. Jo Ellen said today that she has progressed faster than they thought she would and they are talking about sending her home this Friday possibly. continue to pray for these dear ladies.

better is little

Proverbs 15:16-17 Says, "Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." I was reminded last night in our services of just how much we could do without in America. Bro. Tran's testimony about life in Vietnam and what his family has gone through to serve the Lord ought to make each of us ashamed about how little it takes to hinder us from serving God. For many people to go through a little financial trouble causes them to doubt God all together, yet we forget just how blessed we are even then compared to the majority of the world. There stood a man who's father was killed for preaching the gospel, and yet he is willing to plod the same path for the cause of Christ, we should all take note and remember the great treasure that we have in our walk with Jesus Christ.

Cassandra Schrader called today and told me that her cousin, Bobby Harjo, missionary to the Native American Indians in New Mexico is having a family crisis. His sons wife is having a baby and the cord is wrapped around the baby's throat. Pray for the family and the health of the baby if you will.

Prayer and power

I read a book this week called Praying effectively for the lost. I plan on getting a copy for each family in our church. It was a very good Biblical perspective on how to pray for the lost. As I read it I was impressed with a greater urgency to pray for a number of people who I know need to come to the Lord.

As I prayed I also was impressed with the Scripture that admonishes us to pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest. If we are going to pray for our lost friends and family members to get saved, it only stands to reason that we should also pray for the one that God would send to reap such a harvest of their soul.

The longer I am in the ministry the more and more I am impressed with the absolute necessity of prayer. Truly we can accomplish nothing without Him, and there is no way to get His power and presence without prayer.

We finished up VBS last night with 107 kids in attendance, I am not sure about the number of decisions but I will let you know I find out.

Last night Bro. Don Steele's grandson Joshua was in a motorcycle accident last night. He was kept overnight for observation. He has a broken leg and some swelling on the back of his head. they may release him this morning. please keep Him in prayer.

bless the Lord

Psalm 103 is one of my favorite Psalms. the theme is blessing the Lord for all the things that He has done. This week at VBS we have had some great blessings. Last night we had 3 more saved that I know of, we had an attendance of 87 kids. I am sure glad that tonight is the last night since I am already worn out. This morning though I opened my Bible up and read, "Bless the Lord O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:" We sure are blessed with benefits, and when we get weary we must remember how blessed we are, and we must in return blessing to the Lord, the giver of all blessings.

Notes on the sick: Ladine Kettler has had her breathing tube removed and her condition is improving. Jo Ellen Hunt is doing well and is in good spirits, both would be blessed by visits if you can go by. Jo Ellen is in St. Anthony's on the 6th floor, Ladine is now in a regular room on the 3rd floor of Southwest Medical. Seth Carter was riding his bike today and ran into a fire hydrant braking his foot in two places, I think he takes after his mother. Keep these in prayer.

I also got a note that a family that visited two weeks ago Ben and Jenifer had a death in their family, they lost a grandmother, pray for them and pray for their salvation as well, they seem to be open to the Word right now.

We look forward to VBS tonight and need all the helpers we can get so if you are free come on out at 6:30 and be a blessing yourself.

VBS, Hospital, and buildings

We had a great night with 83 Kids in attendance and 6 young people trusting Christ as their Saviour. I cannot wait until Thurday Night when we will have our Carnival.

Keep praying for Jo Ellen, and Ladine, both are till in the Hospital. I will be going up to see them this morning.

Our Building Fund is doing well, we are down to $151k owed now. Our progress has been greater than projected since the pledge in February was only $70k for the year and that included $20k we already had. We have paid down $72k and still haven't applied the $20k that we have set aside in the Building fund account. That means that we really only still need to raise $131k. Keep praying and giving and We will keep seeing God take control and bless.

6/9/09 - VBS

Our first night of VBS was great with 75 children in attendance. We had a wonderful turnout of workers, but as the week goes on we will sure need them and maybe more. I am looking forward to our Thursday night Carnival. That is always a great time, and we get to leave the families with a very good impression of our church as a result. don't miss getting to be involved in VBS this year.