Knowing and Doing

I remember in seminary a short time ago, I had classes all day on Monday’s.  Sometimes we had to drive from Bonham early in the morning to catch the 8:00 AM in south Fort Worth.  Then, we moved to Tecumseh where the drive was even longer and had to stay the night on Sunday night.  Needless to say, if the professor was not excited about his or her topic, I would dare to doze off a little in class.  I usually never sat in the front because of this reason, even though my good buddy JY liked to do so and urged me to do the same. It seems as a society we are tired.  We cant sit still for a moment, otherwise, we will fall asleep.  I get to where I don’t even care to watch TV anymore because when I sit in that chair, it seems that the button has been activated.  With more technology at our fingertips, we do more and more in a day because of it.  And we are exhausted. Where is our attention to the Lord in our sleepy slumber?  On a daily basis and/or ...

I am just now listening to John Maxwell’s Audio CD’s from Christmas of 2009 that my wife gave me.  They have been on the shelf for quite some time and I haven’t had time to.  He spoke of key principles that are good for teaching discipleship and in mentoring relationships in the church as we read Scripture: 1.  Relationships 2.  Attitude (Luke 9:23, Romans 12:1-2, John 15, etc.) 3.  Equipping (Eph. 4) 4.  Leadership (1 Timothy, Titus, Eph. 4) I want to pick on relationships today.  Many people in Fannin County you will find claim to have a relationship with the Lord but do not have relationships with other believers or a body of Christ.  We find a picture of the early church in Acts:  “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship , to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  (Acts 2:42) The New Testament Greek word for fellowship is “koinonia” and it would mean “living together in community".  ...

I have been reading Joshua in my quiet time and thought I would share some interesting things I found to be leadership nuggets…some I dare say I could work on in my life. 1.  ”I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5)  We read the same promise in Hebrews 13:5 which is a paraphrase of the same principle.  Even though the Hebrews verse talks about money, the point is that God keeps his covenant to provide for His people.  How does that build your confidence that you serve a God that cares about your well-being? 2.  “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6).  Even though this message is for Joshua in its context, we can take comfort in knowing that God is our strength today.  He is our Refuge where we can get strength from in times of trouble.  Paul writes to the Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  It is by God’s strength that we can endure each with the things that need to get done for His glory....

What do you think when we read in the Gospel of John about “ABIDE“?? "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”  (John 15:4) I would answer that a large part of ABIDE (a vital connection with the Lord Jesus) is Prayer…simple prayer.  Prayer is communicating with God.  It is our direct response to what understand and know about God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  It is also communion with God…..it’s one of the ways we deepen our relationship with God.  Why?  We are expressing our love to God. My son and daughters love to talk right after school.  They tell me about their day and the fun they had with friends and teachers learning and playing.  They can’t wait to get off the bus to tell me.  We have learned to take turns.  God offers believers His ears when we talk to Him and we should be eager to spend time with the Lord in prayer every day. WHY...

This month, Telephone Baptist will start a four week emphasis on sharing the gospel with others. The main point of doing this is to follow the Great Commission…Matthew 28:19-20.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." I was curious to look up the word “commission” in the dictionary:  a formal written warrant granting the power to perform various acts or duties.  The believer has been given authority and power to complete this Great Commission and we have been commanded to “make disciples” at all costs.  Jesus has given the believer the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us as His witnesses of who the Lord is and how He saves us through our own salvation. Preacher Paul Washer asked in a sermon “What has the Great Commission cost you?”  If the believer in Jesus Christ h...