Poured Out,

The other day I found a bottle of water I started drinking several days ago. For some unknown reason my mind thought, “that water is old and worthless, don’t drink it.” So I poured it out. Then the ungodly thought popped into my mind, “You are like that water, you are old and worthless.” But by God’s Spirit He reminded me that a life lived in faithful service to Him is an offering of great value. 

1 Chronicles 11:16-19, tells a story of three of David’s mighty men. One day David said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” So the three mighty men crossed enemy lines and went and got water from that well at the risk of their own lives and brought it to David. When he received the water he poured it out on the ground. What was he thinking? What an insult to these three. Here they risk their life and David pours the water on the ground. But it’s not what you might think. You see David longed to be back in his hometown drinking from his well with his own city at peace. When these men so heroically served David and brought the water, he considered it too great in value to drink. To him it was fit for a sacrifice to the Lord. In the Old Testament we see where wine was often poured out on the altar before the Lord. Jacob at Bethel on the day the Lord changed his name to Israel did just that. He poured out his offering on the altar. Nothing is wasted when it is poured out to the Lord. Centuries later the apostle Paul wrote of himself: 

• For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8) 

A life that is lived for the glory of the Lord is fitting to be poured out before the altar of the Lord as a sacrifice. We may not be perfect as followers of Jesus but we are who we are in Christ. We are consistently trying to obey the Word. As we fail we see the grace of God abound, so we are motivated to try even harder. Soon Jesus Christ will return. Until that day we strive to be faithful and productive in His Kingdom. When the time of our departure draws near we will have the privilege of being poured out as a drink offering. That is not a waste that is an honor. 

A Servants"s Prayer

You are my King, King of Heaven.

I am Your Slave, doer of your will.

Let this day be all about you; your good works.

Guide me through the smoke of life to radiant light.

There are souls to save and disciples to enlighten. 

Give me words to sway, words to empower;

that I may impart truth to Your people,

and those who will be but as yet are not your people.

Faithful I want to be; Your Spirit need I in power. 

As You fill this weak feeble soul stronger will I be. 

I may not move a mountain, but so might I see You. 

This heart belongs to You and to You I fight to stay true. 

Heart of Evil Heart of God?

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn't find any. Then it says, "I'll go back to my house that I came from," and returning, it finds the house vacant, swept and put in order.  Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man's last condition is worse than the first. That's how it will also be with this evil generation. Matt 12:43-45

Total surrender of one's soul to the Holy Spirit will lead to the pushing out of the evil contained in the heart. 

My study of God's word has lead me to understand that a person's heart is deceptive and incurable apart from a miracle of God.  Every person's heart is full of evil but when the Holy Spirit takes up residence evil is going to eventually be forced out.  The believer will do well to recognize that their heart is going to be filled either with evil or with God's Spirit. 

Within every believer is the inter struggle of God's will and the spiritual forces of evil. My thought is to the degree the Spirit fills the heart evil will be emptied. In other words the greater we allow the Spirit to fill us the less evil that can exist in our hearts. But the reverse is also true.  The less we allow the Spirit to fill the greater the evil that will reside in the heart.  The believer's only option is to love God with all of their heart which will cause their action to aline with God's will and the resulting in a heart consumed by the Spirit. 

Gas Giveaway

Please be in prayer for our Gas Giveaway Saturday Aug. 8 form 12P.M. to 4P.M. We will be giving away 25 $20 gas coupons at a local gas station. The recipient of these coupons will participate in a 5 question survey ending with a gospel presentation. This is a new endeavor and we don't know just how it will turn out. Our desire is to step out of the boat and do some radical evangelism. So, we need everyone to pray for success. Pray that we will be ready for any and every situation, pray for the Spirit of God to convict the recipients of sin. Pray that people will be receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pray that some will follow in baptism and be united to the church, but most of all pray that God will be glorified. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Call for Unity

What a joy it is to be here at the Southern Baptist Convention with three generations of Cirlots. Our denomination has prospered for many generations and I am certain it will remain strong for many more or until Christ returns. It is great to see the emphasis at the Pastors Conference is on unity. They are asking the question “What If” we all came together in mind, Spirit, love and purpose. The denomination is calling for us to let the world see how much we care so that they will now that God loves them. Let’s pray for one Spirit and mind and remember that our purpose is to fulfill the great commission.

Staying on Cource

...a man of understanding keeps a straight course. Pr 15:21

This Sunday night, I will present a state of the church address to the people of RHBC. My prayer is that every member and intrested visitor will attend. In this address we will look back at our master plan adopted in May of 2006 and we will determine where we are own that plan today. We will also look at what we must do to keep our course straight. It's exciting to know that the average Sunday School attendance in May of 2006 was 109 and in April 2009 it was 166. God has truly blessed our obedience and hard work.

In 2006, in fear and trembling, we chose to move on a path that seemed impossible. But, with God, all things are possible to him who believes. God has been faithful and all we had to do was stay on the course that He had laid before us. May that be a lesson to us today; continued to follow the course and expect to see God grow us both in spirit and in numbers. May our reputation as a church be that they seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all that they need is adding to them daily.

You Need the Seed

You need the Seed to produce Spirit-filled Fruit. In Scripture, Jesus spoke of the seed that was planted in the hearts of people. This seed is the Word of God. Some seed produce fruit and some did not. The believer’s heart is a place where the Spirit of God and the Word of God form a union that is perfect soil for the producing of a fruitful life. By reading the Word of God systematically you are allowing countless seeds to be planted in your heart. With the planting of many seeds there will be the producing of much fruit. You will find yourself living a life that bears a great deal of Spirit-filled fruit.

This Sunday I ask believers who do not currently have a systematic way that they read through the Scriptures to read through the New Testament over a 90 day period. You can complete this task by reading two to three chapters a day. Just read too long chapters or thee short chapters, and in 90 days you will have completed your readings. Fruit will be produced in your life and you will long for new seeds to be planted. You will enjoy bearing fruit.

For a 90 day reading chart go to the church webpage