Walking The Walk . . .

Last week, the Balsora Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Texas caught fire.  Although fire fighters worked hard to save the church (parts of it were over a hundred years old) the structure burned to the ground.  The fire burned intensely hot, and finally the roof collapsed.  No serious injuries, but a couple firefighters were treated at the scene. The only thing left standing was this striking symbol--the cross.  The Lake Bridgeport Volunteer Fire Department said it all on the website.  "It remains standing in all of its glory, while its background is nothing but ash and debris.  Simple reminder how precious life is and how quickly it can turn."   The church plans to rebuild--lets pray for their success.  And if you'd like to help out, you can send donations to: Balsora Baptist Church 108 CR 3623 Bridgeport, TX 76426 I'm sure they'd appreciate it!  ~Todd Creason

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   ~John 3:16 I have a t-shirt that says "I'm a whosoever!"  I saw that on a bumper sticker years ago, and I'd have to admit, I didn't get it at first.  I didn't make that connection to John 3:16.   Billy Graham said that John 3:16 was at the heart of the gospel message.  Whenever he tested a microphone before going on television, he'd recite John 3:16.  When somebody finally asked him why he did that, he said, "Because that way, if I am not able to communicate the gospel clearly during the interview at least the cameraman will have heard it." And what does it mean to believe? When we say we believe in Christ, it means we believe not only in the fact that he lived, but in the fact that He STILL lives.  We have trust in Him--complete confidence in Him.  We rely on Him.  That everything He says is true,

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ~James 4:14 This verse may sound depressing to some people--a reminder that eventually we all die. But you could also look at this verse as a reminder that we're still alive.  We're still here!  What we do today matters!  How we live matters!  We have a very limited amount of time here on Earth and we should value every minute of it.  Stop fretting over what happened yesterday, and stop worrying so much about what you've got going on tomorrow, and live in the moment.  Live in the right now. We think we're in charge of our life, but we're not.  We can't change yesterday, and there's no promises about tomorrow.  What is real, and what is important is the moment you're in.   God has a plan for us.  Put God in the middle of your life.  Let Him guide you in every decision big and small.  Involve Him in every problem.  Ask

I read the devotions in "Our Daily Bread" almost every morning.   I think it was last week I read one that had a story about Glen.   He enjoyed being a blessing to others.   When he went through the drive through at the coffee shop, when he’d get up to the window, he would pay for his coffee, and then also pay for the order of the car behind him.  He'd ask the cashier to wish the car behind him a good day.   There’s more to the story than that, but I really liked that story, and I thought that was a wonderful way to bless somebody unexpectedly and build a little treasure in heaven at the same time.   And that’s what I was thinking about a few days later when I swung through the Starbucks drive through.   I decided I was going to do that thing Glen did.   I noticed there was a young couple in the car behind me, and I decided to pay for their coffee.   I get to the window, and I hand the cashier my card to pay for my coffee, and I ask her if I can pay for the car behind

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice! ~Philippians 4:4   Paul wrote these words while he was in prison.  Can you imagine that?  Sitting in a cold, damp prison cell unsure about what your future holds, and celebrating the Lord as you await your fate.   Paul was able to endure every hardship because he had an anchor in his life.  His anchor was Jesus Christ.  It didn't matter what challenge he was facing or what trials he was going through, or what pain he might be suffering, he kept his eyes focused on Jesus.  He kept his perspective on the final reward and the work he had to do here before receiving it.   Paul had his priorities in order and his perspective, what he focused on, reflected that priority. We have the same anchor Paul had.  Too often we depend on our own resources as we're going through challenges in life, and we take our eyes off the eternal and get bogged down in the the temporary problems of life.   Our trials and tribulations in this life w

His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" ~John 9:2 When things go seriously wrong in our lives.  When we're dealing with a difficult situation.  When we're dealing with a tragedy or an unexpected emergency.  When we seem to be going through a string of hardship on after another.  Sometimes we feel like we're being punished.  Sometimes we feel like we are being punished.   When Jesus' disciples saw a blind man, according to the teachings at the time, they believed the man was being punished.  They asked Jesus if the man was being punished for his sins or for those of his parents.  And Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned." We need to stop seeing things that happen to us or others as punishment and start recognizing that God doesn't punish us that way. Hardships are part of this broken world.  Challenges are inevitable.  But our faith is always strong enough to stand up against wh