Facing Life’s Challenges

I feel like I am definitely living in some challenging times. It is nothing others have not already gone through and certainly many have gone through much worse. For those that do not know I, along with my sister Pam, am caring for my Mom following her hip fracture three months ago. The hip fracture itself has been the least of our issues as it is apparently healing as it should. The issues that have been so hard to overcome have been repeated urinary tract infections that often lead to confusion in some elderly patients. Coupled with this has been a bout or two with pneumonia and what you end up with is an inability to do the necessary rehab to get better and resume something of a normal life.

The challenge for me, besides seeing my mom’s health decline, has been the miles and miles of driving between Fayetteville and Canton or Roswell or, most recently Jasper. I can not tell you how many miles I have driven. Am I complaining? No, I am not complaining but I am tired.

Why am I writing of something so personal? Because I know that you too walk through hard times. I have not mastered how to do this and it is not something I ever want to get good at, if you know what I mean. Yet, I would like to share with you how I am dealing with this.

You have probably guessed the obvious- prayer. I know I pray but I also know others are praying for me. Thank you! Along with prayer, time in the Word of God has held me together. But then there is a great church family at Woolsey Baptist Church. I do love this great church. I am a man that is has been greatly blest by our Lord to shepherd this flock. And then, my sweet wife- so understanding, so supportive, so unselfish, so willing to help carry more of my load so I can do what I can for my Mom at this time. She gladly gave up her Mother’s Day for a long Sunday afternoon drive to the hospital that included a lunch stop at Subway and a supper stop at Arby’s. How’s that for romantic dining? What a sweetheart she is! Many talk about surrender and sacrifice, she lives it and it is just one of the reasons I love her so much. By the way, I am so proud of Kari as well. She gave up a lot too on Sunday afternoon including a ride in the old folk’s car! Watching her feed her Meme and serve her in other ways was a sweet time.

So there you have it- or at least some of it. Just thought it might be worth letting you come in close and maybe see something that can assist you as you face life’s challenges.

The Gospel Preacher and the Emergent Church

We need the gospel preacher now more than ever. The man of God who faithfully preaches from an open Bible boldly declaring “thus saith the Lord” is, in the eyes of some, becoming a relic of the past. The man who will daily get alone with God to hear from Him regarding his personal life and who will set aside time for the hard work of diligent study of the Word of God to bring God’s message to the church is sadly becoming more rare than common. This man I call the gospel preacher. He has no interest in crowd pleasing, because He longs to please the One who redeemed and is redeeming him. He makes it his ambition to make Christ known because he knows from personal experience that knowing Christ is the greatest pursuit in all of life. He does not preach because he has to get up and say something, but because he has something to say. His heart is white hot because he has spent time with the Lord Jesus Christ; he has saturated his mind with Biblical truth and when he preaches that truth he preaches not a lifeless message but a living, reigning, and soon coming Christ. He is like Jeremiah when he said, “But if I say, "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.” Jeremiah 20:9.

We need the gospel preacher today. We need him more than ever. We need men that are not interested in the latest fad, gimmick, or gold. They are not looking for the next opportunity to advance a “career” but are consumed with a passionate following of a “calling” they cannot escape. I have been privileged to sit under the preaching of Al Whittinghill over the past few days. How encouraging and refreshing and convicting and in your face-get right with God it has been! He is truly a living example of the gospel preacher and I thank God for this man.

For many reasons we need the gospel preacher today and none are greater than the growing influence of the Emergent Church. The Emerging Church movement is made up of those that hold to Christianity but feel that reaching a postmodern culture calls for a reshaping of orthodox Christianity to appeal to the postmodern mind. This is, as one would imagine, fraught with many dangers. Click here to learn more about the Emergent Church. Suffice it to say that only a casual reading of Dr. Mohler’s blog will leave the discerning reader with a sense of the dangers inherent within this movement.

So, here is what is on my heart. Surly we are living in perilous days. As Amos 8:11 states, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” I thank God for the gospel preacher that earnestly contends for the faith. If you are one, stay the course. If you know one, pray for him. Again, we need him now more than ever.