Grace

Scripture

You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

~2 Corinthians 8:9, NLT

Quote

“God by nature is a giver and He loves to see His children display His character in their giving. In other words, we are never more like God, than when we give.”

~Ken Hemphill

In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul speaks exclusively about the grace of giving. The word grace (charis) in found in the N.T. 159 times. It is found in 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9 ten times. It is not always translated grace no matter what translation you are using…

• 8:1…Grace— the desire of the Macedonians to give.
• 8:4…Favor— the privilege to give.
• 8:6…Gracious–Offering for the Saints in Jerusalem.
• 8:7…Gracious–Offering for the Saints in Jerusalem.
• 8:9…Grace–the willingness of Christ to give up His riches in glory in our behalf.
• 8:16…Thanks–for Titus and his spirit.
• 8:19…Gracious–Offering to Jerusalem.
• 9:8…Grace–Ability to give.
• 9:14…Grace–desire to give.
• 9:15…Thanks–For the indescribable GIFT.

In these two chapters alone, we see charis translated four different ways and none of them are wrong. You cannot separate Grace from favor, giving or thanksgiving. When you encounter and ungrateful person, you can rest assured that they do not understand grace. People who grumble and complain do not understand grace. Grace will always manifest itself in one of three ways: [1] Favor [2] Giving [3] Thankfulness.

• Buford Burgess was promoted yesterday just before noon. Tentative plans are visitation Sunday evening and COLS Monday evening. I will know more as the day unfolds. I have grown very fond of Buford and family over the past year. Both the visitation and COLS will be at DBC.
• I had a long day and was so exhausted by the time I got to the blog, that I have very little extra.

No Place Like Home

Scripture

Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

~Luke 16:9, NLT

Quote

“He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.”

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I have lived in many houses, apartments, etc. but in my 66 years I have really had only two homes. While my parents were living, I considered Sardis Springs my home but now my earthy home is in Danville or Rocky Ford, if you want to be technical. A house is made of brick and beams, a home is made by hope and dreams. A house has no eternal significance but home has infinite worth.

Bro. Inman use to say, “Everyone needs three homes, a Christian Home, a Church Home and a Heavenly Home.” Thank God for a Christian home and for a church home but the best is yet to come. I’ve had an easy life but many of my friends have had deal with sorrow upon sorrow.

I visited one of the sweetest ladies I know on Wednesday and she has stood at the grave side of three children: not one, not two but three and has a sweet spirit and wonderful attitude in spite of the sorrow.

I have a cousin who can’t remember a healthy family. His father had rheumatoid arthritis and sugar diabetes. His oldest brother had MS, his only sister had a rare disease that I can’t spell. His mother had a bad heart and his baby brother was a chronic diabetic, two insulin shots per day since he was 10 years old. His dad and older brother died in their 50’s, his mom, sister and baby brother died in their 60’s. At age 70, he has outlived everyone in his family by three years. No one else got past 67.

I am sick of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and all the other forms of illness that bring pain and sorrow to families. Do I have perfect peace in this world? NO! I see hurting people almost every day of my life and I am looking forward to going home, my real home where we will experience infinite joy, peach and love–with no sorrow, sickness or death.

• Another great THANKSGIVING service. I loves things that are simple and we had a service in which our children could participate. When Braden Bass grabs the mic, I thought, “There is no telling what he is going to say,” but the little fellow was clear, articulate and right on the money. If his dad had been there, he would swelled up like an old dead dog. Renee was so moved, she could not say a word. Granny T came with Sue and when it came her time she said, “I am thankful for Teddy.” Just kidding, she said, “I am thankful for Sue.” Sue is so high on Granny’s list that she can be the center of a family photo. They still make Adam stand on the edge in case he needs to be cropped out someday. Granny would have sung for us but June could not find the sheet music. We’ve booked her for next year.
• Gary Garner had his final chemo on Wednesday, we pray.
• Dropped in to see David and Kay: David is doing well but also being careful to follow the doctor’s orders. He may get out Sunday if everything falls into place.
• Also stopped by to see Mrs. Jewel Roberts who has not been out in 5 weeks but she may get to come Sunday weather permitting.
• Folks, I had a great THANKSGIVING. I am thankful for a lot but at 1120 Ironman, Big Mama is the MVP. I didn’t mention that at church or with the family but we all depend on Big Mama and she does a terrific job taking care of the family. I am very blessed! All Bailey’s have sinned and come short of the perfection we see in Jesus but all things considered, I am very proud of my children and grand children. I hope you had a good day also.

THANKSGIVING

Scripture

I will always thank the Lord; I will never stop praising him.

~Psalm 34:1, GNT

Quote

“Ingratitude is antithetical and irreconcilable to Grace.”

~Ya’akov

One of my favorite thanksgiving stories comes from Corrie Ten Boom. The barracks where she and her sister Betsie were housed was infested with fleas. Betsie insisted that Corrie give thanks quoting I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Corrie was having a hard time being thankful for fleas but the scripture reads…in everything not for everything. In the midst of bad situations we can find things for which to be thankful. Betsie told Corrie, “We are still together, we have a bible and the guards never come in to inspect the barracks.” In the midst of such horror, Betsie named three things that Corrie had to be thankful far. By the way, the reason the guards never came into the barracks was the fleas. Corrie got to keep her bible and have daily bible studies because of the fleas.

A man once stole Matthew Henry’s wallet. In reflecting on the incident, Henry said, “I am thankful that he never robbed me before.  I am thankful that although he took my wallet, he did not take my life.  Although he took all I had, it was not much. And I am glad that it was I who was robbed, not I who did the robbing.”

• THANKSGIVING PRAISE AND WORSHIP TODAY at 9:30 am.

THE LAW OF THE HARVEST

SCRIPTURE

 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

~Galatian 6:7, NASB

QUOTE

“Sow a thought, reap an act; Sow an act, reap a habit; Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny.”

~John Lawrence

John W. Lawrence was a professor at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. He is most remembered for his book, LIFE CHOICES [which I plan to have Mandy order Monday] in which he explains in detail, with thousands of biblical references, the law of the harvest. Here are his seven chapter titles:

1. We reap what has been sown. Paul said, “If we sow to the flesh, we reap corruption [death] but if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap eternal life.” As you can see, there is a positive [Spirit and life] and a negative [flesh and death]. In the case of number one: the positive, Jesus sowed his life, we reap eternal life from what He sowed. Adam sowed transgression and rebellion and we reap a sinful nature and a sin cursed world. You and I had nothing to do with either. We reap what others sow.
2. We reap in kind. If we sow love, we reap love. If we sow hate, we reap hate.
3. We reap after we sow. The harvest comes after the sowing, as Paul said, “In due season, we shall reap.”
4. We reap more than we sow. Proverbs 22:8, Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will come to an end. Disaster is worse than injustice. David sowed lust but he reaped sorrow. On the positive side, Jesus said, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap.” We cannot out give God. It is impossible because He has deeper pockets. Actually, there is no bottom to His pocket.
5. We reap in proportion to what we sow. Give generously and you will receive generously. If you are stingy in your giving, you will get a stingy return. 
6. We reap a good harvest if we faint not. Galatians 6:9, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we [faint not] do not lose heart. If we keep sowing good, we will reap eventually but if we stop [faint, lose heart] our harvest will be bad by default.
7. It’s too late to worry about last years harvest. Joe can reap this years harvest [beans and corn] but he can’t do anything about last year. Forget what is behind and look forward to what lies before you. None of us will reap a good harvest by moaning over the failures of the past. Get busy sowing.

{I might have done just a tad of editing}

• I am going by Health South to see Gary first thing this morning LORD willing. I decided to study last night make my day trip a three stopper instead of two. I am not listening to any football and I am not watching: I will be on the road LORD willing. No one is to call me unless they know that Alabama has it sowed up. I am really in a dilemma, Mark Richt is probably the best man in the coaching profession. I would like to see him win a National Championship but I do bleed crimson.
• Keri Callahan went to Vanderbilt on Thursday, if things work out, she goes back next Thursday for a treatment.
• Kane Update: Kane is tired today. Real world living is hard work. Labs looked good today. Probably going to start chemo Monday. Follow up ultrasound Monday to see how soon we can come home. Nothing medical till Monday. Going to hunker down and watch some football. Pray for a restful weekend with no surprises.

If I understood correctly: Kane through MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION is getting a Tree House. Not only is SPORTS ILLUSTRATED coming back to Danville [Oct. 30] but TREE HOUSE MASTERS are coming to build Kane a Tree House. June is pumped. She watches Animal Planet all the time. She said, “If they come, Ty and I will be there.” Ty also loves Tree Houses.

DON’S POEM FOR THE DAY

“The Master Builder”

GOD is THE MASTER BUILDER, HIS PLANS are perfect and true,

And when HE sends you sorrow It’s part of HIS PLAN for you….

For all things work together To complete THE MASTER PLAN

And GOD up in HIS HEAVEN Can see what’s best for man.

Bobby Sent A Pic For Gator Fans

Called To Be Givers Not Guardians

SCRIPTURE

The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.

~Psalms 37:21, NLT

QUOTE

What makes the Dead Sea dead? It constantly receives but never gives.

~Dwight L. Moody

I was reading Luke 16 in my morning Bible Study and it was so fresh that it was like I had never read it before. I saw seven stewardship principles that Jesus taught in these few verses.

1. Children of the world are more shrewd in dealing with the world than are the children of light.

2. Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Making a friend is more important than making a fortune.

3. If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large things.

4. If you can’t be trusted with this world’s wealth; you cannot be trusted with heavenly treasures.

5. If you are faithful in managing God’s wealth, you can be trusted to manage your own.

6. No one can serve two masters: you can’t serve God and money.

7. What the world honors is detestable in God’s sight.

• No reports on the sick today: I tried to catch up on Grand Sons playing football and I had to study.

• Today’s schedule: Deacons at 7:45, biscuits and donuts at 9:00, LCBS 9:15, Worship Celebration at 10:15 and 6:15 with AWANA at 5:30.

• If you have not seen WAR ROOM, go today. It is a must see for all believers. No one can explain what’s going on with this movie. Be a part of frustrating the left: go see the movie.

At The Feet Of Jesus

SCRIPTURE

The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to Him, grasped his feet, and worshiped Him.

~Matthew 28:8-9, NLT

QUOTE

Worship is always an act of giving: you cannot divorce giving from worship–it’s impossible.

~Ya’akov

Remember what Paul said about the Macedonian Churches–They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. [2 Cor.8:5] Mary of Bethany {Martha’s sister} is mentioned in three different passages and in each one she is at the feet of Jesus.

• John 11:32–When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
• John 12:3–Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
• Luke 10:39– Mary sat at the LORD’s feet, listening to what He taught.

What is the significance of posturing yourself at the feet of Jesus?

1. It is an act of worship.
2. It is an act of submission.
3. It is an expression of adoration.
4. It is a place to pray.
5. It is a place to learn.
6. It is a place to rest.

Understand the truth: The Macedonians first gave themselves to the LORD but then they gave a large offering, much more than they could afford. Mary was not just a sponge soaking up the teaching of Jesus; she gave Him the most precious thing she had, a bottle of perfume that was worth a years wages. For me, that would be $60,000.00. How does that compare with our giving? I would call her gift extravagant, wouldn’t you? Worship is always and act of giving and giving should always be an act of worship.

SONG

“We Fall Down (My Jesus I Love Thee)”

We fall down, We lay our crowns,  At the feet of Jesus

The greatness of Mercy and love… At the feet of Jesus

We cry holy, holy, holy;  We cry holy, holy, holy;  We cry holy, holy, holy Is the lamb.

My Jesus, I love you, I know thou are mine
To thee all the follies of sin I resign
My gracious redeemer
My savior, art thou
If ever I’ll love you
My Jesus tis now

[If this doesn’t move your spirit, you need reviving]

• Tracey Hill should get to come home today is all goes well.
• Gary Garner is fully awake but he still need our prayers: don’t let up.
• Kane Hogan: I got this report from Michelle at 8:00 PM [Sept.10]….He is better. Blood suger is still up and down but treating it with insulin. Staying in the hospital till Saturday. Then to Ronald McDonald House for 4 to 6 weeks.
• Pray for Judy Davis: she is one of our best Shepherds. We need Judy! Those senior adult women respond to her.
• I have a Uncle [Daddy’s baby brother] and an Aunt who are battling cancer. I pray for Revival daily and sometimes more than once a day and I also pray for a cure for cancer. I don’t have any long range plans for this sin cursed earth, it is not that: I just hate cancer and what it does to people. I loathe it with every bone and breath.
• The Stripers finally showed up and showed out: the kid who runs the machine is 25 years old and he doesn’t slow down. He was trained my his dad but he got so good his dad realized that he was better and gave him the reins. Our parking lot looks great. We need to seal-coat in next July during the break. He and his helper are both believers: we had good fellowship.
• Sunday schedule: Biscuits and donuts at 9:00, LCBS at 9:15, worship at 10:15 and 6:15. AWANA and VISITATION at 5:30.
• I will be in REVIVAL @ Belleview Sunday through Wednesday.
• Joe David and Lori had 27 at the Thursday night college Bible Study.

The Old Miser Within

SCRIPTURE

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”

~Matthew 6:19-20, NLT

QUOTE

Everything is safe which is committed to Christ and nothing is safe which is not.

~A.W. Tozer

Living down deep inside of all us is an old miser: a self-centered, self-preserving nature. If this is true, how can we explain generous people. The difference between the generous and miserly is that the generous recognize the old miser but they have learned that he can be crucified by giving. The way to attack greed is to give. You will never become a generous person until you understand this truth.

C.S. Lewis says, “The only thing we keep is what we give away.” Worldly logic declares this principle stupid: obviously, the more we keep for ourselves, the more we have. It would seem that way but that is not reality. Because we are merely trustees of God’s wealth, everything eventually goes back to HIM. He will reward us according to what we gave, not what we saved. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” The secret to getting is giving. Either you overcome your greed or your greed will overcome you. Generous people attack their greed by giving. They have a deep determination that the old miser will not get his way. Remember, old misers do not have a bright future because their greed is never satisfied and in the end they lose everything.

• Went by to check on Gary Garner yesterday: he is scheduled for a pet scan today if all goes well. Pray that his sugar will be low enough for them to do the scan and put in the port. If they get these two things done today, he starts his treatment next week. He is anxious about it and so am I.
• Every offering we take at DBC is a free will offering. We challenge you to give but we don’t make anyone give. The offering this Sunday is intended to keep our general fund at an operating level. If no one gives Sunday, we can cover the expense of the parking lot but we will have nothing left. The deacons did not think this was a good idea and neither did I. If we work together, we can do more than pave the parking lot. Personally, June and I are excited. We talked about it and set our goal and the Lord has enabled us to reach that goal. I want to give. I can’t wait to give.
• I had 15 to preach to last night and I enjoyed it. Holly wants to go back to Wednesday night suppers but I don’t think it is feasible, we may do pizza once a month. I just wish our folks had a desire to GATHER but that will take a REVIVAL. I am OK with Revival, how about you?
• What about this weather? I don’t remember anything like it in August. We have not been able to take down the back fence from the BP. Too wet to drive the truck across the playing field.
• Pray for me, I have to get up at 5:30 and help JD cook B’fast for the football team. I can’t get over the physical demands of the BP and then Mandy worked the dog out of me Tuesday. I was sluggish all day yesterday. I may stay up all night and that way I want have to get up. When I get retarded, I will probably read all night and sleep all day.
• Bobby sent us another classic pic.

Praise The LORD

SCRIPTURE

Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

~Psalm 103:1, NLT

QUOTE

“All is well that ends well.”

~William Shakespeare

MY THOUGHTS

I got home in record time last night, slightly before 10:00 pm which is a record for me. I was tired but also very thankful. We knew it would rain, we didn’t know when or how much but all is well that ends well. There was so much moisture in the air that we couldn’t get our sound system up and running but we improvised and I think our portable systems did an adequate job. Dale put on a fantastic show and the gospel was shared. Ronald Asherbranner and family did a great job on the fireworks. Our folks at the gates counted 1,116 which is great considering the weather. When you add our workers, it was close to 1,300. Everyone did great. You cannot imagine how proud I am of you all.

Every year we have some BP stories: this year a woman came up to Mike and told him she had lost her children. Mike called Shannon over and they got a description of the children. Shannon said, “I’ll go this way, Mike you go that way,” and before he could instruct the woman, she said, “I’m going to sit here under this tree.” She was really worried about those kids, not! 

Last year Whitney was waiting on a man under the pavilion and he kept trying to pay for his food. She said, “Everything is free, there is no charge.” He said, “You aren’t going to make any profit doing business like this! She said, “It is not a business, it is a ministry.” He said, “This must be a church or something.” It’s like yeah, did you not notice the steeple or the sign out front or the scripture on the back of my shirt. There is a moral to this story: things that are obvious to us are not so obvious to the world. They are not paying attention to our signs or steeples.

EXTRA

• A big thank you to Chris Taylor and the FRIENDSHIP Family.
• A big thank you to Anna Franklin, the Deputies, and the Work Release group. They are fantastic.
• A big thanks to Milestone Ministries for their help.
• Todays schedule: LCBS at 9:15 and worship at 10:15. No deacons meeting but I will have you some donuts and biscuits. Two offering today: the ministry offering and a love offering for Bryan and Carla.
• Next Sunday [August 23] there is only one offering: everything goes toward the paving of the parking lot.

The Witness of Creation

SCRIPTURE

They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

~Romans 1:25, NLT

QUOTE

No combination of fortuitous circumstances could possibly account for the universe or its component parts.

~Nelson Bell

God revealed Himself first as CREATOR. It is true that He is our REDEEMER but first, He was our CREATOR. He by nature is a creator, this is who He is and what He does. The Hebrew word for create is the little four letter word bara’ which means to create out of nothing. Paul said that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. In the beginning, everything was invisible and then God created the visible our of what we would call nothing. My Hebrew professor in seminary said, “God can do a lot with nothing.”

Alaska is a vast expanse of God’s creative power and genius. The mountains are intimidating, the lakes are awesome and the sheer magnitude of the place is overwhelming but not one tour guide mentioned God. They talked about evolution and the ice age but no mention of God. I felt a little guilty for just sitting there while they ran on and on with their liberal and unbelieving world view. Perhaps, I should have rebuked the man or started quoting from Genesis. Now that I think about it, I wish I had.

BUT, creation speaks for itself, The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. [Psalms 19:1-4]

• Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home! {John Howard Payne} I do agree with Payne.
• A fantastic trip and I will be glad to share details with anyone who cares to listen but I will try hard not to allow too much of the trip find its way into the messages. I will make a very brief statement of thanks this morning and may elaborate 5-10 minutes tonight. For all who made this trip happen, thank you!
• Coffee, donuts and biscuits at 9:00 and LCBS at 9:15 with worship at 10:15 and 6:00.

THANKSGIVING

SCRIPTURE

O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

~1 Chronicles 16:34, NASB

QUOTE

A sensible THANKSGIVING for mercies received is a mighty prayer.

~John Bunyan

VBS is a big deal; it requires a lot of preparation and patience. Danville Baptist is blessed with two very good administrators who work great together. I am speaking of Mandy and Shohn who have been working for weeks; my work started yesterday and trust me, it is a hard day for a 65 year old. When I got home last night at 8:30, I was tired and tickled. Tired from a 12 hour day and tickled that we got our work done and are ready for day one. I have a few things I have to do in the morning but basically we are ready. We also want to thank Jamie and Sue for doing our T-Shirts. I want to thank all those visitors who went out with us last night. David, Lori and Holly were on my team. I could not keep Lori and Holly in the car, they wanted every door. Our youth turned out in force and so did adults, especially women. We did have some good men show up also. Hey, I could not be more pleased. We made a few mistakes this year and it was all my fault. We are so use to operating on a shoe string budget that we didn’t even think of a mail out which would have been great. I thought of it when Joe David mentioned the flyers. Any who, I am thankful for a good day.

I am tired, dead tired, so no EXTRA today.

TODAY WE PRAY FOR VBS ADMINISTRATORS

{Mandy and Shohn}