Random thoughts from Pastor Andy

It has been a while since I have had time to write an update. What an exciting time it has been recently here at FBC. On Resurrection morning we broke ground on our new property. Prayerfully we can start building sometime this summer. There is a lot to be done of course before we can start, but I am trusting the Lord to keep opening doors and that indeed all will be in place when the time is right. I look around us and see the hunger that has over taken this world. Never have I seen such levels of spiritual blindness than I see right now. The saddest part is the fact that the church has been affected in a tremendous way. Sin is no longer a sermon topic, concern for the lost is all but gone and acceptance and tolerance have taken its place. Instead of standing on the Word and standing on the Promises of God there are way too many who are merely sitting on the premises. I as a Pastor take serious the Word of God and the warnings that are within. I see clearly that I am held accountable for the lives of the sheep that I have been given to shepherd. This is not a light task or responsibility. Currently in our Church wide Bible study on Tuesday night I am teaching the mighty Book of Revelation. It has been eye opening to say the least. There are many subjects covered within the first three chapters that totally change the way most have ever been taught.  The Word is clear, it is whole, it is very informative, but so often because of fear over what others might say or others getting upset because it is not what has always been taught, many who teach steer clear of the truth that is revealed in this powerful Book. The Words that Jesus gave John were not to be mistaken; they make it known how He feels about the Church and what the consequences are when they refuse to repent and turn back to the truth or when they are aware of false teaching and do nothing about it. Consequence is something that is rarely talked about today, most especially if it is a social issue. Today the world promotes “do as you please” and there is seemingly nothing to worry about. There is where we find the lie. This is exactly what the Devil wants, he wants everyone to think you choose and just do it and there is no concern. The same lie he told Eve in the Garden is the same lie he is telling everyone today,
“just go ahead it will be ok.” Well we all know how that turned out and friends, the results will be the same today. Jesus taught that many will try but few will enter. What is He saying? It is exactly what we are witnessing today. Many state that they have the desire to go to Heaven or have eternal life, but they want to do it their own way. They do not want to accept the ways of the Lord, but instead think they can find a better formula or a better method that makes it easier for them because their way will not demand change. Our world is always looking for an easier way, a way that makes little to no demands, but instead embraces self and the flesh which satisfies ones pride and ego. The battle today for marriage is a great example. Instead of people taking a stand and stating clearly that this is not a subject that needs an argument, instead what we see are people embracing sin and calling it equality. Marriage was created by God and defined clearly as one man and one woman. It has been man who has perverted the institution and added to it or taken away. The court systems and lawyers are trying to argue something that should never be argued. God made things clear, but as we see in the Bible it was clearly foretold that these days were coming. The turning away from sound doctrine and giving in to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils is the exact happenings of today. Evil is at the heart of most everything we see today and sadly it is only going to get worse; the further people get away from the Lord. Our nation has told God to get out. We have a sitting President who claims publically to be a Christian, but will soon be the keynote speaker for the largest provider of Abortions in the world. Something here is missing. National polls state that 85% of Americans claim to be born again Christians. I question this at the highest levels when it is said that 58% of Americans support homosexual marriage. The church has failed and the reason it is has failed is the Cross and what Jesus died for is no longer the focus. The fact that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost and that is no longer seen as needed by the church today, but instead what is offered is open arms and just come on in so we can tell you what makes you happy because we would never want you to be upset. This leads no one to Christ and secures not one soul to eternity. Truth demands change and change demands growth. If our focus was Christ and what He offers each person that is bound by addiction, bound by failure, bound by depression, bound by oppression, bound by their past and feels that there is no hope, if that would once again become the focus of the church instead of new ways, new books by so and so, new 30, 40, 90 days of that or that, then we would once again see change coming, we would see hearts and lives renewed and we would see people set free. The one thing the enemy hates at great levels of hate is the truth being taught. Sadly many churches today have abandoned the truth and I say with boldness, shame on them. It was taught that indeed the days of Noah would return before the coming of Christ. We are here and having that knowledge we are bound by commission to tell all those we see, all those we care about, we are to be telling them the truth or they are not going to make it. Thinking about a loved one going to Hell is a terrible thought, but friends, if they have rejected Christ that is the cold hard facts. Political Correctness has no place in the church. Jesus told it like it was and His followers should do the same. Take a stand for Jesus today. Soon and very soon we are going to see our King and He will take a stand before the Father for all that are His. I truly hope to see you there. One day soon, we’re leaving, we’re going to a meeting around the Throne, we’re gonna should our troubles are over as soon as we see our brand new home.

Until we meet again,

Pastor Andy

psalm 33:12 (archive)

Psalm 33:12 tells us "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Having celebrated July 4th this week we look back at our very storied history and see those who paid a great cost to pursue freedom. This freedom also included the freedom to worship the Lord. If we fast forward to our current time  we see that freedom is indeed still a pursuit, but the definitions are not the same. It is important that as a nation we not forget our foundations and what this country was built on and that was Godly principles and faith in Christ. As this country was established and governments were started and leaders elected, we can look throughout all that and find some very important, but yet convicting statements that were said by former leaders, presidents and other officials to get a real perspective of where things once were and sadly where they are now. President George Washington once said these powerful and truthful words, "it is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." Wow!!! this was the President of the United States making a bold and clear statement about the Christian faith. Today that would not be accepted at all. The Bible teaches in Proverbs 14:34 "righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people." As we look at all the original foundations and documents that this country was built on we see a common theme of the presence of God in them all. A recognition, if you will, of His divine nature as well as a respect for His authority. It was this alone that allowed for a forward move because things were being done right or at least there was an understanding that God must be a apart of things in order for order to be in place. In 1831 a noted French writer by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville came to America in search of greatness. He said that he came to seek and search out all the vast happenings here in this land being proclaimed by all who knew of it and had come here themselves and indeed proclaimed that America was great. Mr. de Tocqueville wrote that he visited the powerful harbors on the coasts. He told of the mighty rivers and streams that he saw, the bountiful forests and fertile fields, but he said that even in all of this wonder he still did not find greatness. He continued his search and proceeded to look at all the infrastructure, the mining industry, the government, the political system, the school system, even the constitution and after an exhaustive search of all this stuff he still remained perplexed that greatness was still not found. He would go on to write that is would not be until he entered the doors of a church that he found what made America great. He told of hearing a message from a "pulpit aflame with righteousness" and that it was then he found what he had been looking for. He wrote that the secret of America's genius and power was found in that message. He said, "America is great because America is good and if America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." As believers and those who love this land in which we live, we need to be in never ceasing prayer that our nation will turn back to the Lord and His ways. We need to stand on His promises and trust Him 100% and know without a doubt He cannot fail. We need to seek His wisdom as it comes to electing Godly leaders and truly be preparing for the days ahead because hard times are here, but more are on the way. I say that not to be negative, but to be honest. We need His power and might like never before. President Ronald Reagan made a powerful statement that sadly has gone unheard for many years now and it needs to be published, displayed and presented in every way possible today to all who have been given the honor of serving in public office and for anyone in an authority position. He said "within the covers of one single Book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today, if only we would read and believe." To that my friends I give a great big AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   May His blessings find you always,

 

until next time,

another chance (archive)

AS ALWAYS MY PRAYERS ARE THAT ALL OF YOU ARE WELL. I AM LEARNING MORE AND MORE AS THE YEARS GO BY THAT I AM INDEED ONLY HUMAN AND CANNOT BE IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE AT A TIME. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO VISIT EVERYONE ALL THE TIME, BUT TIME DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THAT IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT PLEASE ALWAYS KNOW I PRAY FOR YOU ALL AND EACH OF YOU ARE DEAR TO ME AND I AM NEVER MORE THAN A PHONE CALL AWAY. MY NOTE THIS WEEK IS DIRECTED TOWARD ONE THOUGHT. IN ONE OF MY RECENT STUDIES I THOUGHT OF A QUESTION AND IT ASKED WHAT IS APPEALING ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH? AND THE OTHER PART OF
 THAT QUESTION WAS WHAT IS NOT? NOW THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF ANSWERS THAT CAN BE GIVEN FOR THE FIRST PART, LOVE, KINDNESS, FORGIVENESS, PEACE, TRUTH AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. SADLY THOUGH THERE IS OFTEN BUT ONE ANSWER TO THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION AND THAT IS PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIAN, BUT DO NOT SHOW IT, LIVE IT OR HAVE ANY OUTWARD APPEARANCE THAT IT IS EVEN TRUE. HYPOCRISY IS A WORD USED ALONG WITH OTHER DEPICTIONS OF THE ONE PART
OF OUR FAITH THAT IS NOT APPEALING. HOW SAD IS THAT? SO MY THOUGHTS ARE THIS, JESUS HAS CALLED US TO BE WITNESSES UNTO HIM. WE ARE TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIS LOVE, HIS KINDNESS, HIS FORGIVENESS, HIS PEACE AND ALL THAT HE OFFERS INCLUDING OUR ETERNAL REWARD. THIS IS THE CALL TO EACH BELIEVERS, EVERYONE OF US, BUT DOES IT NOT MAKE SENSE THAT BEFORE WE CAN DO THAT WE MUST FIRST PRACTICE IT? PEOPLE WATCH, MANY OF THEM HAVE AN OPINION OF CHURCH FOLK AND WHAT GOES ON WITH THEM. WORDS LIKE, GOSSIP, BACKBITING, HYPOCRITE, MEAN, BETTER THAN YOU, ARE WHAT MANY PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN THEY HEAR ABOUT CHURCH OR AT LEAST THE PEOPLE WHO GO. DOESN'T SOUND TO APPEALINGDOES IT? DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A GROUP YOU WOULD WANT TO BE AROUND AND THAT IS TRULY SAD. WHEN I WROTE MY BOOK ONE OF THE FINDINGS DURING MY STUDY WAS
THAT THE NUMBER ONE REASON MANY PEOPLE DID NOT GO TO CHURCH WAS BECAUSE OF SOMEONE WHO DID. THEY WERE NOT SEEN BY OTHERS AS REAL. THE ACTIONS THAT OTHERS WITNESSED WERE NOT THAT OF A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST. I ONCE HEARD A DEVOUT ATHEIST SAY THAT IS WAS NOT JESUS THAT HE HAD ANY ISSUE WITH, IN FACT HE LIKED HIS TEACHINGS AND VIEWS AND HIS CHARACTER COMPLETELY, THE PROBLEM FOR HIM WAS THAT SO MANY WHO CLAIM TO FOLLOW HIM ACT NOTHING LIKE HIM. A VERY STRONG, BUT SADLY A VERY TRUE STATEMENT. WE ALL ARE CAPABLE OF
MAKING MISTAKES, BUT PRAISE GOD WE CAN GET ANOTHER CHANCE AND BE FORGIVEN BY THE LORD WHEN WE ASK. AS BELIEVERS WE MUST START PRACTICING THAT WITH ONE ANOTHER AND START BEING WHO JESUS CALLED US TO BE. LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND ASK YOURSELF, CAN PEOPLE SEE JESUS IN ME? IF YOU DON'T SEE HIM THEN THE CHANCES OTHERS DON'T ARE VERY HIGH. WE ARE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE SO WE CAN DO IT, HE CREATED US TO LOVE HIM AND SHOW HIM TO OTHERS. LET'S GET BUSY AND
BE ABOUT OUR FATHERS WORK. REMEMBER THE LOVE AND COMPASSION THAT JESUS SHOWED TO OTHERS INCLUDING ME AND YOU AND MAY WE ALWAYS BE WILLING TO SHOW THAT TO ALL WE AFFECT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS LIFE. HAVE A BLESSED DAY IN THE LORD.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, HERE, THERE OR IN THE AIR!!!!!


PASTOR ANDY

another day (archive)

When I wake up each morning I am grateful that the Lord has given me another day. I am grateful because if indeed I woke up then I feel without question that He has a purpose for me to be here. I am very excited to be here at First Baptist. We are enjoying living here as well. We have been taking walks in the afternoon and just going around town and it is good to call this place home. It has been busy so far and I can only imagine that will not change. I am looking forward to the days ahead and truly feel that God has big plans for us here at FBC. We are living in a time that certainly seems uncertain. We read the headlines or hear the news of one tragedy after another, or one more person who has given up or had a disaster. I preaching a lot on the promises of God. He has assured all who trust in Him and have accepted Christ that we do not have to be among the worriers. Sure, life is hard some times and we all have had our storms, but we know that One who can tell the winds to stop. Psalm 118:8 reads, "It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man." If we look at the state of the world right now, I certainly think it is time to put this principle to work. God will never and has never made a promise that He will not keep. Trust Him today and find peace. I know things seems hard, people are out of work, some have lost their homes, some struggle with health issues, but my friends, this is not our home if we know Jesus. We are just passing through. Turn your life over to the One who will not fail you, the One who does not need a bailout program, the One who can bring real change, Jesus Christ. My life has never been the same since the night I made the decision to follow Him. It is the best thing I ever did. I know in my heart that the time is near and He will call us home when that time comes. I will not be making any predictions as to when that will be nor will I do any math to set dates. I will go by what the Word says and that is “no man knows the day nor hour.” I will just keep encouraging everyone to just be ready.  I urge all who have become consumed by the worries of the world, "cast your cares upon Him." He will guide you in a way and to a place that nothing here on earth can compare to. My prayers go out to all of you and I always want you to know I am available anytime. Please never hesitate to call or write. I always look forward to hearing from you. May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You, it is a joy to serve with you.

Keep looking up, He’s coming back!!!!

 

from my heart,

 

 Pastor Andy

short note (archive)

I pray that this short note finds you all doing well today. Times are certainly busy as of late and the world seems to be spinning faster than ever as the days seem to fly by. It is very easy to get caught off guard and be distracted by all kinds of things. Our spiritual life is nearly always the one to suffer. We get overwhelmed with the “I need to do this or that” or “I have to get this finished.” At the end of the day we are tired and beat down from life and we feed the kids (if we have them), look at the mail and quickly see if there is any cut off notices, hit the shower and its off to bed. The routine quickly becomes the norm and each day it gets a little easier to follow the same path over and over. This describes way over half the people around us on a day to day basis. Although this has become normal for so many and isn’t necessarily seen as wrong, there is no balance in this pattern when it comes to the spiritual side of life. It always seems to get the short end of the stick, if you will. What we must remember is that if it were not for God and all that He does for us and the abilities that He has given us, we could not do any of the rest. We owe Him a debt of gratitude like no one else. He deserves our praise and He certainly deserves some of our time each day. It may come through prayer, certainly daily reading of His Word is very beneficial, devotions with our family could be a great help and the list could truly go on and on. Remember there would be no time had it not been created and the One who gave it can take it away at any moment. He created us to love Him and show His love to others. My statements here are simply for one reason, I want us to learn to focus on Him and not the world. The more we focus on Him, the more we learn how to treat each other and that is the key to sharing our faith with other. When people see Christians hurting each other and acting like just anyone else out in the world, why would they be drawn to that? It is the love of Christ we are to share, that is what helps others know the He can help them and bring the needed changes to their lives that they are seeking. We are to be His witnesses in this world in which we live at this time. We need to remember that in order for someone to witness something they must be able to see it. Do people see Jesus in you today?  We must learn to see what is of Him and what is of the enemy and it is those things of the enemy that we should give no time and in fact we should rebuke them and say “Get behind me!!!” Seek and you shall find. He is waiting to spend some time with each of us. Go to Him today and you may just find exactly what you have been searching for in every place but the right place.

 

Until we meet again,

 

Pastor Andy

What if today were the day? (archive)

What if today were the day? Am I ready?

 

No one woke up today saying to themselves, "wow I hope I die today” or “ I think I might die today.” That is not the way any one thinks normally. My question though is what if you did, are you prepared? I am not talking about having made all the arrangements at the local funeral home or having your best suit of clothes or favorite dress picked out, I mean your soul, your eternal destination. Do you knowfor sure, have absolutely no doubt at all what will happen to you when you die? In life most people like to be certain about things. Most of us like to know for sure about what we are doing or how to do it. Eternity can have that same assurity if we just make a desicion that can and will forever change our lives here on earth and beyond. Many today will tell you, "well I will worry about that later" or "I hope everything will be ok" or even worse "when I go I will just be dead and nothing else." My heart, my true desire, is to help everyone understand that there is more, there is life beyond this world and it is forever. Indeed it is the most important desicion that you will ever make. I am so proud to be called of God. I am so proud to be doing the work He called me to do. I lived for many years without Him and when I look back and realize how blessed I have been and how blessed I am to still be here it truly amazes me.

My faith means everything to me. I look back over my life and wonder how in the world did I make it before now. I always knew there was something more, but I never understood the need for it to be personal. I want to share my heart with you today. I want everyone to see and understand and completely know that there is more. We live from day to day often wondering how things will turn out. Would it not be nice to at least know one thing for sure? One of the best feelings in the world is to be able to lay down at night and know that if you do not wake up that all is well. This is not to be morbid or having a death wish. Knowing that you know is a great feeling. We all like to be sure of things. There is nothing more important to be sure of than what eternity holds for you. There are lots of false teachings in the world today, but there is only one truth and His name is Jesus Christ. I pray for the words and wisdom each week to share something special with all of you that will be a help, that will be a challenge and that will cause you to grow in your faith. My faith changed my life and for the first time ever I found what real peace is all about, it's not in the world, it is within. I firmly believe that we are living in the final days. Some would argue that and say “well that has been said for a long time” or “the last days have been going on since Jesus ascended” and while both those statements are true, the events of our world today tell us that time is drawing near. I feel and urgency in my spirit and that is to share this Gospel truth with everyone that I can. I truly pray each and every service or class that we have here at FBC will give an opportunity for someone to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and give Him the chance to come into one’s heart and make their life complete. I may sound like a broken record to some as I continue to speak on being ready or prepared for what lies ahead as it pertains to eternal things. That is not my intention, but I once had someone ask me, “will you always preach salvation?” and my response was “yes or at least until everyone gets saved!” What do I mean by that? Do I think everyone in the world will get saved? no, many will say no and continue to live however they want, but I feel in my heart as believers in Christ we have the greatest news in the world, that a person can give their life to Christ and be eternally saved and be forgiven of their past sins. If indeed we have this knowledge then we absolutely should share it with all that we can. This is not only the Great Commission, but it is just right. We all have loved ones and friends that we know if today were their day they are not ready. The real question is that if we know this have we taken time to tell them there is a way they can be ready? I am very excited about what God is doing here in our church. I feel His blessing upon us. I look forward to the days ahead and what He has planned for us. May we have an obedient spirit and do as He says do. May we strive to be of Him and not of the world. I am honored to be here serving as your pastor. I am very happy with my place in life right now. I preached a sermon years ago that many people truly enjoyed. The title was “What is better than going to Heaven?” Most people would answer, nothing is better than that. I would argue that there is one thing, and the one thing better than going to heaven is taking someone with you. Let’s get busy telling people about Jesus and the wonderful change He can being to their lives. If we do as He has asked us to do, we will not be able to contain the blessings He will send our way. God bless you all. Please know I am here for you. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Pastor Andy

Archive #1

From the Pastor’s Desk

Psalm 144: 3 says this:”Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him! or the son of man that You make account of him!” If we stop to think about it for a moment and realize that each one of us is important to God that is pretty amazing. The Creator of all cares about me. So often we go through life wondering if anyone does care or if anyone would care whether we were around or not. 

When we enter into a relationship with another person, be it friendship or a relationship that is leading toward a life together the key to it working is actually getting to know that person. Spending time together and getting closer are things that must happen in order for the relationship to grow. This same holds true for our relationship with the Lord. Religion is a very broad word that encompasses so many things but hardly any of them deal with a personal relationship with Christ. 

This is one key thing that is missing in many of today’s churches, the understanding of the fact the He wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. Man created religion to try and find a way to God, but He already did that through the Cross, that is the real message. When Jesus was asked why He came, He said that it was to “seek and save the lost.” He cares for everyone of us. No matter where we are in life right now, He will meet us there. There is no sin, no wrong, no past that will make Him say, “well not you, I can’t help you.” He is unlike anyone else we will ever meet or know. 

People so often judge, criticize or develop feelings about others based only on appearance or even worse stories they have heard. Jesus looks at the heart, He knows what is real and what is true. When we stop for just a moment and think about the fact that the One who came not to “condemn the world, but to save it” was thinking about me when He gave His life, that should not only make us grateful, but it should make each one of us want to know Him better. 

I believe as we move forward together that our focus will grow stronger on getting to know Jesus better. God has put a burden on my heart for the importance of how we treat each other and how we show Him through our lives and actions. We will only reach others when they see that what we say and do are the same. It has to be real. We live in a world where reality is a word used a lot as it pertains to shows that diplay peoples lives on tv and the perception of reality is to be that it is real. Sadly very little if any of it is actually real but is for entertainment purposes only. 

God is real though and the things He has given for us to do are real and Jesus said that “if we love Him we will keep His commandments.” The two commandments that He gave were to “love God and love one another.” As believers this is what should govern what we do and how we do it. Our world has turned away from believing in this truth and certainly the fear of God is rarely spoken of. One day and I believe one day soon those who refuse to believe or listen will look around and wonder where all of us are. Jesus is coming, He promised and He will come through.

 I am truly excited about what the Lord is doing here among us and I have no doubt it will continue to grow and just keep getting better. Thank you again for your warm welcome to me and my family. I am very excited about what we are going to do together. Always know I am here for all of you so please do not hesistate to call or stop by. Until we meet again, whether here, there or in the air, God bless you all

Pastor Andy