Camouflage, Smoke Screens, and Band Aids

When I was in the military we wore fatigues which had many different patterns on them.  These patterns broke up the outline of the body, deflected heat, and helped the military blend into its surroundings unseen.  We had many different styles and patterns of camouflage to use and many times we had several pair, 6 in all issued at boot camp.

Smoke grenades were used as a way to block someone from seeing you clearly although you wouldn’t throw one while trying to remain unseen, it provided essentially the same concealment so a unit or a group of military personnel could retreat or reposition itself.

Band Aids are used to protect an open wound from surface dirt which in turn cuts down on infection risks.  Some believe uncovered wounds are at greatest risk for infection. When I thought about these things it reminded me of those who try to cover their sin, those who hide behind the veil, thinly layered I might add, but still they try to without much success.

Porverbs 28:13 states “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Many today believe their sinfully living will go unnoticed, that they are getting by with their sin, yet the bible records in Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”   Camouflage, Smoke Screens, and Band Aids are not full proof just as human efforts cannot get you to heaven.  Covering only masks a greater problem: a deceitful, wicked heart.  The solution is to confess and forsake them for its only then can you obtain God’s mercy and experience His forgiveness!

1 Cor 3:6-7 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

After reading this scripture I asked myself this question: How many people seek to do things their own way?

Frank Sinatra sung a song called, “I did it my way.” In the song he repeats the phrase I did it may way several times throughout, and in one particular verse it states, “To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels.”

Many so-called Christians today attempt to build the church by man’s ideology and by man’s methods, but the scripture tells me true increase in anything, church, finances, marriage, children, etc…is by God.

What we are to do is give out the seed, and pray over the seed.  That’s the way churches are grown. We are to make disciples and many today are more concerned with numbers than discipling.  The result; no spiritual teaching, no spiritual growth, and discipleship, as we use to know it, has ended.

God’s responsibility is to give the increase. Today the belief this will not work is very prevalent in society, and many say this way will not work; the argumentis structured like this: because culture has changed we must change to be relevant to this generation.

Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever.” Our Lord and Saviour does not change. So what has worked, and what will work today are Christians who pray over God’s word and give it out, and pray some more.  The increase will only come when we stop relying on godless programs and the latest fad from heretical preachers, and rely more on God and the Old Paths!

Mount of Beatitudes (Photo credit: Blondie5000)

The other day I clicked on a website where I fish frequently, and the caption read, “Closed for the Season.”  I love to fish, however I realize when its cold fish do not bite often.  A little research revealed that while certain fish are active in the cold, most are not.  In fact they shut down many functions and lower their metabolism negating the need for food, (no hunger).  Ice fisherman cut holes in frozen lakes to reach the fish which are hanging suspended below and the fish see the bait, yet never move toward it even though they know what it is by smell and sight.

Matthew 5:6 states “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”  As fish shut down and do not eat, my thoughts moved to Christians who stop reading their bibles, who stop praying, who begin to miss church and get to a place in their lives where a preacher can preach the Word of God with the power of God and the cold-hearted Christian like the fish, feels God, hears God, knows that God is speaking to them, yet never moves in response. They just hang suspended.

Much like the church at Laodicea (Revelation 2), many people have become lukewarm, and as such have no desire to nibble at God’s Word.  They have become sickly, undernourished, and remain that way until death. God provides for us with every breath, every second of life an opportunity to stay healthy, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to be filled.  We can no longer blame God nor can we blame the church, instead we must look at ourselves in light of God’s Word and realize our condition stems from a lack of contact with God.

Let me just say that I love church!  I have everday of my saved life!  November 3, 1997 began a day in my life that would change the way I looked at, approached, and live out the rest of my life!  I know, I know, you say well you are a Pastor, you are suppose to say that, but may I ask a question; does the same God dwell inside you as me?  Then why should your love of the church be different from mine? You see when God saved me, He changed my life forever!  I am encouraged when I go to church by handshakes and warm smiles.  I am encouraged by people bringing in their children to hear the word of God, and I am uplifted by the old hymns where the blood, the grace of God , salvation and heaven are constant reminders to me about what my Saviours has done, is doing, and will do.

I love coming to church for the biblical insight God gives us through the power of His Holy Spirit.  I love to examine the contents of the bible and relay what God has given me to you for the edification of your souls and for the encouragement of those that are discouraged. There are many other reasons I come to church:

I long to know the Lord more and fellowship with His people in a public display of worship to our Saviour!  The Word of God is the strength of my life: it grows me, I thirst for it, long for it and every day, I find my self reaching more for it than anything else!  The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 421-2 “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  My soul thirsteth for God,for the livingGod: when shall I come and appear before God?

Church is more to me than handshakes and smiles!  I am there because I am thirsty and long for the word of God! The Living God!  I am a dry brook without God’s living waters flowing through my veins, I am a creek-bed desiring the creek to overflow with it’s abundance.  My soul thirst for, longs after, desires greatly for God’s Word.

I want to obey God’s word as the writer of Hebrew’s states in Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” There was a time in my life when being obedient to God wasn’t in the top 100 of my life, but when Jesus Christ saved me, everything changed and I bcame a new creature in Christ and my desires changed, for the new nature took control and the new nature desires to hear from God, desires to commun with God, desires to fellowship with God.  Even when I fail in my Christian walk, God doesn’t forsake me or leave, but God leads me back to the paths of rigtheousness.

May I encourage you today to go back to church if you haven’t been.  If you have never attended a church service, go, and ask God to give you everything you need in those services to sustain you, grow you and mature you in the Lord! Better to be a humble servant filled and overflowing than to be a dry brook!

Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of  the LORD.”

Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  Here is my question?  Where does the heart of CCM rest?  I have heard so many reasons why CCM is the way to go, but as I stated earlier, no scripture to under-gird the premise.  I have heard preferences, I have heard you can’t judge my music because God accepts me for what I am therefore God accepts my music preference. I have a question to ask:  First, where in the scripture does it say God accepts you for who you are or as you are? Second, what do you do with the scriptures which states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord?(Romans 6:23) or “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God! (Romans 3:23)

These scripture references refute the notion you are accepted for who you are in regard to salvation.  Let me give another, how many times have you heard the popular statement, you can’t judge me therefore you cannot judge anything I do, only God can,  which is usually then followed with something similar to Matthew 7:1 “Judge not that ye be not judged,” although they cannot tell you where it is in the bible when they quote some form of this.

Most often this statement is made because someone spoke out against their behaviour or their beliefs.  Often it is a statement made to defend their sinful living.  Perhaps many do not go past that first verse which says, Judge not, that ye be not judged because to do so would reveal that Paul was talking about the Pharisees and how they condemned others which did not live up to their standards, and condemned many because they wouldn’t follow their practices or traditions.  By the way, the pharisees did not adhere to their own regulations and rules.

2 Peter 1:20 says , “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” Many today say this, I believe,” and then follow that with something they believe that is not biblical or use scripture which they found which would seem to support their case outwardly, but looking closer at the scriptures they quote, the simply take them out of context.

CCM fails the scripture test, and in doing so is unbiblical to use. Next Week:  Music III

I was recently asked a question about Music and why we don’t have contemporary music in our church.  While I cannot cover all the reasons in a devotional, I will cover some.

First let me say, while I am not for CCM, I understand others are and will and have disagreed with me, but most of the people that do have never given me biblical evidence that CCM brings people closer to God. I don’t mean experiences that caused emotions, I mean a closer, more faithful walk with God.  In fact I believe the opposite is true, that CCM has pushed many further away from the intent behind music and worship in it’s truest sense.

Many people defend CCM today because they love worldly and see nothing wrong with incorporating this style in the church.  There is just one problem:  Where does worship come from?  Music or the heart?  I believe that CCM is a philosophy which when it begins to take a hold of you, your home, your church, will lead you into tolerating worldliness thereby allowing biblical standards to be dropped.

CCM is a popular genre of music and is often preferred over traditional hymns, but one wonders why? What is the heart of CCM?  What is the motive and appeal of this type of music that has grasped the church and entagled it into a sticky web which causes retreat to be impossible to do without creating major problems internally as well as externally.

I ask this question:  Where is the biblical foundation for CCM?  Where are the scripture references that say worldly music with godly words are acceptable and holy before the Lord. I see no where in the bible where music saved a person, but what I do find and will expound on later in the week is how preaching the Word of God, not watered down as some have done and are doing, will bring about conviction, and a changed life about worldly things.  I have believed and always will believe that where your heart is will be where your treasure is.  Tomorrow I will use scripture to show where the error of CCM is and where true music stems from: a heart that is right with God.  May the Lord Bless and keep you.

Pastor Farthing, JM

When the Lord spoke to Solomon in II Chronicles 7:14, it came after Solomon had prayed (II Chron. 6:12).  The Lord appeared unto Solomon and revealed to him that his prayer was heard and that the Lord had chosen this place as a place of sacrifice. (II Chron. 7:12).  This place chosen by the Lord for Himself has his name there forever, and His eyes and His heart are also perpetually there. (II Chron. 7:16).

II Chronicles 7:14 is part of the response to the Solomon and is speaking directly to God’s people.  Not just any people, but God’s people.  I can imagine that a great deal of people would have balked at what the Lord said to Solomon much because they believe, and do so ignorantly, that they are not wicked and therefore have no need to repent. So, instead of repentance they call out to God, only to find later (Great White Throne) that they were not God’s people (saved), and therefore their prayers were an abomination.

Many times I have heard people say they are not bad people and God understands their faults and failures and accepts them for who they are.  If this were true (universal acceptance by God of everyone) then why would Jesus have to give His life for the remission of Sin?  Why would their be a need for any laws, commandments, doctrine, etc…since man is capable of being accepted regardless of what he has done without the blood of Christ?

Most folks don’t believe they are wicked, yet the bible says “as it is written there are none righteous no not one.” (Romans 3:10).  Could it be that we are not revived because a vast majority of those who are calling unto the Lord are not saved and the ones who are saved, are living so wickedly that they cannot see their wickedness?  The problem isn’t the world, the problem is God’s people, called by His name.  Nobody wants to humble themselves, seek God and pray like He spoke to Solomon about doing.  As a result the name of God has since left many churchs and the name ichabod is written over the door post.

Acts 4:12 is a verse that reminds us about who it is we must call upon and only Him, not just for salvation, but for help in this present troubling time. Would you call upon the name of the only name whereby men must be saved?

I remember after I told my Pastor I felt called to the ministry the things he said to me:  Make the will of the Lord the law of your life, and stay as close to the Lord as you possibly can. I wrote this down in my bible and have tried to follow these principles since that day.  My tips for the New Year are  found in I Timothy 4:13.

1.  Give attendance to reading God’s Word.  I believe every child of God should give attendance to the reading of God’s Word every day.  It’s that important.  If you say you don’t have time, then add up all of the time you watch tv, play on the internet, or anything you do besides work and sleep and then take an hour of that time to read God’s Word.

2.  Give attendance to Exhortation. It’s not enough to read God’s Word, you must heed God’s Word.  So what you read in the scriptures should be put to use in your life.  In other words Christian, it’s not enough to just read God’s Word, you must also practice God’s Word.  James 1:22 warns us “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your ownselves.”  Thats the test of obedience.

3.  Giving attendance to Doctrine.  Yes doctrine.  You must know what they are and you must understand them to be succesful in the Christian walk.

If you will follow these tips your year will fare better regardless of any circumstance you may face.  When you make your resolutions be careful with them because many are almost impossible to keep, however, as with everything we do, what we place the most importance on will most likely be what we try the hardest to accomplish.  Resolve to read, study and pray and then discipline yourself to accomplish it.  I hope you a have a New Year filled with many blessings an much fruit in the Lord!   Amen!

If you are looking for a Church where God answers prayers:  Look No Further!!!

Hello, my name is Terry Eaton:  Let me tell you a “True” Story.

I had cirrhosis of the liver for 15 years. The doctors said I would probably get liver cancer, which I was diagnosed with on March 15, 2008.  It was one of the scariest moments of my life when I heard those words, but what do you do but accept it and move on.  I was placed on the transplant list.  December 2008, things started getting really bad, my health was really going downhill; the doctors gave me a few more weeks to live without a transplant.  January 2009 I was admitted to UNC hospital, my lungs were filling up with fluid, and they had to constantly be drained.  This was very painful.

I called my Hillcrest Baptist Church family and asked them to come anoint and pray for me.  Some of my church family showed up that very night around 9:30 pm and prayed over me and anointed me.  This was a Thursday night,  January 8, 2009.  Then, God answered my prayers as about 2:45 am Friday morning, I received a phone call saying they had just received the perfect liver for me and that it was a great match.  That is the last thing I remember.  I woke up two days later and my daughter told me I had a new liver and that everything was going to be ok.  Prayer Answered!!

However, this is not the end of my story, that was just the beginning.  In 2010, the church had planned a trip to Little Jerusalem in Florida and I wanted to go, so I did, but I felt a small lump in my throat, but didn’t say anything to anyone. When we got back I went back to the doctor to find out that now I had throat cancer, and that I may lose my voice box, because the lump was connected to my voice box.  Again, I called my church family prayer and  anointment.  After setting up radiation, the doctors still couldn’t promise me anything, but we kept praying and in February 2011 I finished radiation and kept my voice box!

The story continues….February 3, 2012, I had to go for another check-up and this time I was told my throat cancer had spread to my lungs and my lymph nodes.  This time it is stage 4 cancer, but again with prayer and anointment, I received chemo every week for seven weeks with no real problems, except losing my hair.  In May 2012, after a lot of “hands on prayer”, my return to the doctor for chemo results showed the cancer in my lymph nodes on my throat were so small it didn’t even show up on the scan, and the ones on my liver had shrunk over 50%.

I am so appreciative to be saved, to be a member of such a praying church and to have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  So please come and let us pray for you, whatever your needs.

This past week our projected faith promise offering came in for the year and it was enough to support the current missionaries, as well as take on additional missionaries.  We are thankful for your self-less giving to the work of the Lord in support of the missions work here at Hillcrest Baptist Church and we are excited about what the Lord is going to do for the missions work this year!

Every dollar you give in support of faith promise missions goes to missionary works all around the world: from Brazil, to the Bahamas, to Ghana, West Africa, your support counts.  Be faithful, Be cheerful, Be involved in missions giving. With the world failing all over, it is paramount to continue sending out missionaries to the field to reach the lost. Give as unto the the Lord!