Some of Our September 2009 Articles (Download August Full Issue PDF)

Jesus The Captain of Our Salvation ?

Hebrews 2:10 “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

The greatest treasure that we can have is our SALVATION!

Mark 4:35 – 41 … Jesus Calms the Sea· If Jesus Can Speak To The Sea and Make It Calm He Can Save You And Set You Free.· The waves of life will come. · They will rock you and shake you. · Call on Jesus for Help!Jesus is the Author of our Salvation!

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”· Jesus is the only way to Heaven!

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Jesus is the Finisher of Our Salvation!

1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”· Jesus finished our salvation on the cross when he bled and died and rose again the third day, conquering death!

Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.”· You can not earn your way to heaven!

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”Thank God For His Son

See You In Church Pastor Rodney Ricketts

The Cab Ride

So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woma n in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'. 'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?' 'It's not the shortest way’, I answered quickly. 'Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. 'What route would you like me to take? I asked.For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring
into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now' We drove in silence to the address she had given merit was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. How much do I owe you? she asked, reaching into her purse. ‘Nothing,’ I said. You have to make a living,’ she answered.‘There are other passengers,’ I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent over and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. ‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy’, she said. ‘ Thank You.’ I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once and then driven away? On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life. We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

You won’t get any big surprise by sendind this on to other people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by letting others read this story. Thank you, my friend... Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.



The Life Saving Station

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew. Some of the members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building.

Now, the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired life-boat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in this club's decoration, and there was a symbolic life-boat in the room where the club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. They did. As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.




So True

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen... A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.' 'Why do you say that?' asked the customer. 'Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.' The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: 'You know what? Barbers do not exist.' 'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber. 'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!' 'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.' 'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me.' 'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.' If you think God exists, tell this to other people--- If you think God does not exist, keep it to yourself!

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS !!!!!!!




Eternal Ink

One day you have nothing to do. . .The next you don't have time to get it all done. . .One day the refrigerator is empty and you are hungry. . .The next you have a half eaten meal in front of you and you are stuffed. . .One month you've got money to spare and you wonder what to buyThe next you've got a bounced check. . .One moment you are full of energy and can't go to sleep. . .The next you are drained and can't get up. . .One day you are the center of attention. . The next you wonder if anyone knows you are alive. . .It's the waves of life.They carry us up and down and all around.

Money, friends, your body, your relationships, your job, and therest of the list, they all vary. They all go in waves.It took me a while to really understand the statement,"The Kingdom of Heaven is Within."No commercial can show you that.

Commercials make you believe it's in the jazzy new car or thebig screen TV. Yes, those things can thrill you for a moment, but it's only a wave. After a little while, the thrill is gone.I have always recognized that if money and things brought happiness,then all rich people with things would be happy.It ain't so. We easily see how poverty can cause unhappiness, but we aredeluded into believing that money solves all things.

Life is full of stuff. I wouldn't trade my life with anyone,it's one of the most blessed that I know, but it's still full ofstuff. One thing after another, one challenge after another,one situation after another, day by day, never-ending . . .It's the waves and there is no stopping them from the outside.You can only calm the inside, so that like a submarine, you ride deep beneath the waves.Though a storm is raging, you are at peace.Most are tossed and turned by waves.

Some like the sub, ride deep beneath the daily storms in peace.

Some simply surf the waves and have a lot of fun.Some drown.

You can't stop the waves; it's the nature of the ocean of life.

You can only choose which method you will use to handle them.

You can be tossed like most.

You can drown like many.

You can surf and have fun while you can, but even a surfer getstired and there's nowhere to sleep on a surfboard.

To ride comfortably beneath the waves requires a ship containingbreath that is not our own.That ship. . . . . . is not crowded.Peace - Be Still



To Whom Much is Given

A Mother was having a hard time getting her son to go to school in the morning.

"Nobody in school likes me," he complained."

The teachers don't like me, the kids don't like me, the superintendent wants to transfer me, the bus drivers hate me, the school board wants me to drop out, and the custodians have it in for me. I just don't want to go to school."

"But, John, you have to go to school," said his mother sternly. "You're healthy, you have a lot to learn, you have something to offer others, you are a leader.And besides, you're 40 years old and YOU ARE THE PRINCIPAL."

Have you ever felt like the principal in the above joke?

Mothers? Bosses? Husbands? Even Pastors?

You are in charge; yet, the charges that you are in charge of can be a real challenge.Leadership always has its price. It's full of rewards, but the price can be heavy.

Everyone expects you to boost them, but who boosts you?

I was in the church one day. I was alone (at least no other person was there).The day had been hectic and the responsibilities great. I stood in the sanctuary and asked God, "Why do I have to do so much?"

I had the burdens of the church, the burdens of two businesses, and a family to deal with. Plus, I had my own stuff. Everyone has their own stuff in addition to other's stuff. Your own stuff hides in the corners of your mind just waiting for an opportunity to jump forth.

Your own stuff is enough to deal with by itself. Do you remember seeing the pictures of Atlas? He is the Greek titan with the world on his shoulders. That's what it feels like sometimes. I'm sure you know the feeling.

I stood as the echoes of my voice slowly faded."Why did I have to do so much?"

I clearly heard God breathe a soft answer into my spirit, but it wasn't complete. It was half of a sentence and half of a statement."to whom much is given. . ."

That was my answer, "to whom much is given. . ."

There is a quote that goes "you can judge a man by whether he will ask for a light load or a strong back."

It's the principle of the principal. "to whom much is given. . . . . . much is required.

"But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48



We Remember

As we well know, September 11th marks the Anniversary of the World Trade Center. Back on this day in 2001, we came together as a nation in mourning. We closed our eyes in thought of those we've sadly lost, and we prayed hard for the families of the victims that they could continue to find strength in their hearts to continue the march through lifes' journey. Please continue your prayers and support for all of these people, as they will need your help in this manner for years and years to come. We also pray for our military personnel, as well, who are (or have) fought bravely for our freedom. Words just cannot express enough of our gratitude that we should have for our military. They fight for our rights everyday without them we would not have the freedom that we are blessed with each day.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you". John 15:12 – 13 - 14

The Undeserved Gift

I grew up in a small town in Ohio. There was a man in town that everyone seemed to know. Bob was uneducated and couldn't talk plain. It seemed that because he was good natured and not very smart that every one teased him. I guess he was an easy mark. One day when I was sitting on the porch he came walking by. I was about 12 years old and thought it would make me feel grown up to tease him like some adults did in the town. He asked how I was doing. I told him that my father had lost his job, and that we were short of money. I could see my friends laughing in the background so I poured it on pretty thick. I had him fooled so completely that every time he asked me a question, I would make the situation seem worse and worse. I knew he scratched out a meager living doing odd jobs, so it seemed funny when he asked me if we needed anything. I told him that we didn't know if we would have enough to eat. He replied, "You poor thing. I will pray for you." That night I heard the door rattle softly. I thought it was the wind whipping against the door so I didn't pay much attention to it. Later when I opened the door to go outside, I found a box of groceries. I knew who had given the foodstuff. I looked through the small box of canned food with tears in my eyes. I felt ashamed, and wanted to return the groceries. My father would not let me take the box back. He said it would hurt Bob's feelings. Each day when we would have dinner my father would ask, "What side dish are we having from the gift box today?" It was hard for me to eat the food. I knew Bob had given sacrificially. I did not deserve the gift, but he gave the best he had. It reminds me of the gift that God gave, long ago, when He gave us His Son. It was a gift we did not deserve, but He gave us His best.