Newsletter Sept 6th

GREETINGS FROM BARBEE’S GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

We welcome Mrs. Winter Barbee into our Active Church Membership. May we enjoy serving the Lord together.

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One of the “joys”?????? Of my teenage years was plowing and cultivating with a mule in the hot summer sun. Buck was no ordinary mule. He was sleek like a riding horse and not skinny and bony like so many other mules. Despite his good looks, Buck was still a mule. Some days he had no interest in pulling that plow, if I did not pay attention and keep him moving, we both baked in that hot sun and accomplished nothing. At other times, Buck was not interested in walking in a straight line. Again, it took my full attention to keep him moving in the correct row and not making a mess of the field.

When I think back to those days on the farm, I think of the words of Jesus: “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God”. [Luke 9:62] So many thoughts leap to mind:
   …The individual who claims to have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They declare that they want to live for Him. Yet, they look back with longing [and often return] to their previous lifestyle. That previous lifestyle may be evil and sinful, or it may be activities that leave no time for Jesus. They are trying to have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of God. That never works.
   …The Pastor who looks back at the glories of a previous Pastorate. Somehow, his present church does not “measure up” to his current place of ministry. The Pastor may become bitter toward the Lord for placing him there. He can also become bitter towards his present church members. Perhaps, he just wastes time looking back with longing. If God placed him in that church, then the Lord had a reason for doing so. My plowing days remind me that every row is different. Some rows have more rocks. Some have more weeds. Some have more stubborn weeds. The challenge is to deal with the task at hand.
   …Churches can also stop progressing when they spend excessive time looking back. Many churches look back and dream of the 1950s. Churches were overflowing. New and bigger buildings were needed. Now, attendance is way down. It may be a third or a half of what it was back then. Many churches blame the Pastor and call Pastor-after-Pastor trying to reverse the decline. Sadly, so many churches have become worldly, they don’t preach a real New Testament Gospel, and there is very little outreach and soul winning. The attitude is: “Folks know we are here. They can come if they want to come”.  We forget the words of Jesus about “going out into the highways and hedges and seeking the lost”.
   …Individuals can also waste time looking back to when they “sang most of the solos”, or “served as a key Youth Leader”, or, “enjoyed ministering as a Deacon” etc. The question is: “Where does the Lord want me to serve Him at the present moment?”

Friends, Jesus warned us about living in the past. The Apostle Paul challenges us to live differently. “Brethren, I have one compelling focus: I forget all the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the Divine invitation of reaching the Heavenly goal and gaining the victory prize through the anointing of Jesus”. [Philippians 3: 13, 14] TPT.

We live in the “here and Now” and not in the “back when”. God deliberately chose you and me to live in these “end times” of the Church Age. If we will prayerfully seek to Know, and to do, God’s will for our generation, we will please our Lord. Like Paul, may we keep our eyes on Jesus and on  His plans for our individual lives, our church, and our world.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1. Sunday School is at 9:00 am
2. Morning Worship and Children’s Church are at 10:00 am. Also available in the parking lot at 10 on 99.1 FM and on the website after 12:30 pm
3. Prayer and Bible Study are on Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall
4. REVIVAL — October 11-14—–Rev. Mark Caldwell
   Are you praying? Inviting others? Planning to attend?
   Will we have “revival” or just have some “services?””

Pastor Ed and Deacons of Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church