Faith Cometh By Hearing

Recently, the phrase "Faith cometh by hearing" has taken on a new meaning to me.  I have encouraged people to read their Bibles for as long as I can remember preaching.  It's an easy thing to preach.  Everyone knows that we should do it. Regularly, we give a challenge at the beginning of a new year for people to attempt to read the whole Bible in the coming year.  All of the effort is worth it, even if only one person takes up the challenge.  The reality is that not near as many people as should read God's word do it regularly, let alone every day.

I have not abandoned trying to get people to read their Bibles, but I am accepting that it's just not going to happen for so many.  If that is the case, here is another idea.  We must regularly expose ourselves to God's word.  I have recently started listening to God's word when I am walking or running.  At first, I listened to fast paced music or something just to keep me distracted. Now, I am trying to do something meaningful with the time. I have found that the hour gives me a chance to clear my head and even meditate on Bible truth.  When I listen to the Scripture, I hear things that I have never seen.  It's not that my eyes never read the words.  My focus is different.

I am listening to a lightly dramatized reading of the Bible.  The narrator uses some personality and a little bit of a dramatic v.  The result has been that I hear what I have not seen, and I think about the words.  The Bible does say, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Try listening to God's word.  You too may find that you will hear what you have not seen.  If you struggle reading, try listening.  God wants His children to spend time in His word.  You will be amazed at what spending time in God's word will do to your life.  Give it a try.

5K Walk/Run

17 weeks ago my family and I made a significant life change.  We began a low-carb diet with specific portion controls and started a program of physical activity.  It has taken me 17 weeks to complete a 9 week regimine called Couch 2 5K.  My wife is still working through the program with me.  We are excited about the results to both our endurance and weight.  Our church family has been an amazing encouragement to both of us.

As a way of encouraging us, folks started asking what we were training for.  "What is your goal?" The suggestion was made that we could run in a 5K.  That was the start to a good idea. With several refinements in the idea, we put our minds to getting in good enough shape to do a 5K in celebration of our coming 40th birthdays. We have asked the church to walk or run with us on Saturday, March 5, at 8:30 a.m.

Several members of our church have agreed to participate and are already training.  Our goal is to get as many people from that church as possible to participate.  For those who are unable to walk or run, we have asked that they come out and cheer us on.  We could use help at water tables and with keeping track of times.  To celebrate the completion of the activity, we will have a big church breakfast. (I know, it sounds counter productive, but I expect that we will all have a good time).

If you are in the community and would like to participate, we would love to have you come out and cheer us on.  Better yet, when we start registering people, sign up to walk/run.  The activity is all about God's people doing something healthy as they have fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ.

We are planning on getting a t-shirt made. We will have an award for all those who complete the course.

Website Updates

We have made several enhancements to our church website http://www.pfebaptist.org/ this week. One key improvement is the inclusion of a usable calendar for church events. In the coming days, we will have login options on the calendar page for those who are part of the music ministry, work in the nursery, and serve in leadership roles in the church. This will allow us to post ministry service schedules in a location that can be easily viewed from your web browser.

If you are a member of Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church, put the church website in your favorites folder and visit often. The more times we can get people to view our site per day, the higher our rankings will be in search engines. Just for fun, look us up at http://www.yp.com/ under independent Baptist churches in Pensacola. If you have something good to say about the church, log in and leave a positive review. This also will help us remain at the top of the list when folks search for an independent Baptist church in our area.

We are open to suggestions for improvement. In the coming days, we hope to have a members login section so that you could view the church bulletin and have access to other membership information.

The Yellow Pages

As we continue to improve our effectiveness at online advertising, I would like your help. Please visit the following link http://www.yp.com/ and look up Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church. A Yellow Pages consultant suggested that if we could get some good reviews posted to the listing, it will help our ratings in search engines such as google, yahoo, etc. Be the first to rate Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church. Help us reach more people.

Missionary Heroes

It was my privilege to visit some wonderful missionaries in Haiti a little over a year ago. Since that time, they have continued to faithfully serve the Lord. I count it a great privilege to have met Don and Bridgette Dryden. It was wonderful to become reacquainted with their son Benji and his wife Kerri. At this year's Spiritual Leadership Conference in Lancaster, CA the Dryden's were given the World Harvest Award for 35 years of pioneering work in Haiti. Take a look at this link http://vimeo.com/13344911 and be challenged by what God can do through individuals who are committed to Him.

A Week at Camp

Well, the week is about half way over. Everyone has survived and is having a good time. The preaching of Tom Farrell has been excellent; we will have him at our church in 2012. The Wilds truly is a wonderful place to get alone with God. For those who have campers at The Wilds this week, visit their website at www.wilds.org to see pictures of this week's activities. They will post even more pictures this weekend.

I have to admit, there is just something special about hearing 1,100 campers and sponsors along with hundreds of support staff singing God honoring, traditional, conservative music that thrills my heart. For those of you who have not had a chance to hear teenagers enjoying a music service, you have to visit here some day. I wish I could take all of this home with us and let the whole church hear these kids sing. Forget about the popular styles of today, this is awesome. It's too bad that some ministries are turning away from this kind of music and leaning towards more secular styles. There will always be a place in my heart for the music of The Wilds.

It has been good for the campers, and all of us, to get away from our normal activities. Some of the kids are having withdrawal symptoms from being deprived of electronic devices for a few days. Just joking! It is good to be in a controlled atmosphere for preaching where the Holy Spirit has time to work in our lives. It is also good for the campers to be removed from the peer pressure of friends who are not here. Pray that God continues to work.

It has been good to see some friends from college days. It's nice to run into friends in ministry, and this is a great place for fellowship. Pray that the Lord gives us safety as we travel home on Saturday.

America and Christianity

For the record, I am a Christian. What I mean by that is that I have recognized that I am a sinner. I believe that because of my sin, I deserve to die and go to a place called hell. I also believe that God sent his Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty for my sin (death) and take my place so that I could have eternal life with Him in heaven. I have placed my faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again. I am trusting Jesus as my Savior. According to the Bible, I have the promise of eternal life. I am a Christian.

I am grateful to live in the United States of America. I love America. I believe that America has experienced tremendous blessing from God. There are many individuals in America's history that are worthy of recognition and praise for their faithfulness to and trust in the God of the Bible. I am thankful that much of America's foundation was based upon Bible principles. I am thankful for those who have gone out from America to share the gospel with those in other lands who did not have it.

I recognize the need to stand up for truth. Historically, American culture has held up with reverence those who proclaimed truth. I wish that were still true today. I am not offended by those who seek to attribute godly motives to American leaders of previous generations. I would like to think that there were better days than today, that there was a time when the godly served as a restraint to evil in the world around them. I would love to think that America in some way was a restraining force to evil in the world. Patriotic holidays have the tendency to bring back nostalgia for the good old days. I would have loved to attend a camp meeting of days gone by where the preaching was hot and the singing lifted the tents. I have dreamed about what it would have been like to live during one of the Great Awakenings. There have been times that America turned to God. America has known revival. America has been Christian.

America has changed. It is not that we now find ourselves with government leaders who are secular. America has always had secular leaders. This is not the first time that America has changed. America changes with each new generation. We are the product of what we have taught as a nation. We now teach a tolerance for evil. That has not always been true in America. In days gone by, most unbelievers were still shy to identify with what society viewed as being immoral. There are not many things left that society believes to be immoral. Today, America is not culturally Christian. I think our President is correct in saying that. What a shame! Our courts and our laws reflect who we have become. They have not made us who we are.

For the record, there is no other place I would rather live in this entire world than the United States of America. There is a place that I will live someday that is better. That place is heaven. America is a great land, but she is not the next best thing to heaven. No place is a next best thing to heaven. We cannot compare the glories of heaven in the presence of God Himself, where there is no evil, to even the best of circumstances in this life. Maybe, we can identify with the words of the song, "This world is not my home …"

I pray for America. It may be selfish, but I want to experience God's blessing in America. When I read the Bible, I do wonder at times how God can bless America. We know that we are not the nation of Israel, but some people like to compare us to God's chosen people. In days gone by, when they sinned, GOD JUDGED. When His people turned to Him, then He healed their land. America is going in the wrong direction. If she does not turn towards God, she will face the same sure judgment of every other godless people. – Don't let those words shock you. The God of all the earth will always do right.

The solution for America is not new laws, new judges, or new political leaders. The solution for America is found in the heart of her people. If they will turn to God, He will bless. I dream of a Christian America. I don't dream of it being Christian by coercion or decree. God is still in the saving business, but He has chosen to use Christians to tell of Christ. What are we doing to tell the world, to tell America about Christ? We are already in danger of becoming the land that needs foreigners to come to our shores and tell us of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You say that could never happen. –It happened to England. –It happened to Scotland. It is never a bad thing for people to come and share the truth. It is just sad that others would feel the need when we used to be the people that told others. Let's do our part.