Out On The Streets

God has placed the local church in divinely appointed areas. We are located in Burlington near the interstate not far from downtown. While we are a body of believers that gather weekly we are also a church that scatters daily.

There is a scene that we do not see. It is the invisible spiritual world that is playing its game of havoc upon mankind in the physical visible world. When the church is not available in prayer then the invisible world runs amuck upon the visible world.

As the church is on the scene and praying then we know that the invisible spiritual world of God is available to us. When God’s presence is thick and real then sin is defeated and Satan is deposed. Prayer is needed to ask God for His activity.

May we pray and go in the name that is above every name. Prayer gives us wisdom, power, and purity. Prayerlessness is terrible. There is power in congregational prayer and power in the individual prayer. Let’s Pray. We can’t see the wind but we can feel it. So what we see and feel is dependent upon God’s people as we pray.

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  • Eastern Shore and Ocean City, MD. Mission Trip

    Maryland Mission Pic of Group
    Last year we began to pray and to seek God’s face. We sensed God’s good hand in leading us to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. With much prayer and waiting in faith, our God supplied us with eighteen team members, three Spanish translators, the funds, and the love to head north.

    The teams divided to accomplish more. The two teams were involved in VBS at Red Bank Baptist Church in Marionsville, Va., and the VBS Migrant ministry in Cheriton, Va. Five days of sharing the love of Christ through song, teaching, giving, and testifying were very rewarding to all.

    Two mornings we headed up to Ocean City to work with a ministry called Son`Spot and with Randy Hoffman, a Sand Artist. The team spoke with many European Students who would drop in for breakfast supplied by Gary and Cathy of the Sonspot Ministries. We spoke with them and learned of their cultures and also shared the Lord Jesus with them. Many were receptive. We also distributed several hundred gospel tracts up and down the boardwalk.

    On Thursday the team shoveled and displaced sand and built a foundation for Randy Hoffman to form his new sand art. The other team prepared food for an evangelistic dinner that afternoon.

    Check out the Sand Art on RandyHoffman.com. While you are looking that up, view the ministry of Sonspot.org/. It was a lot of work but each night we laid our heads down in quiet assurance that God was meeting needs in us and through us.

     

  • Four Important Truths

    There are four important truths to learn:

    1. Take God seriously

    He is the Sovereign God of the universe. He is not the man upstairs or the good guy next door. From the day of our conception to the day of our death we are to hold Him in awe.

    1. Believe His Word

    We have the mind and heart of God in print. Many paid a great price to hand it off to each of us. He is honored as we read and heed His message from His own lips that are breathed out in print in our own language. The Word changes us to His truth.

    1. Confess Sin Quickly

    Get your minds off of the evening news or any news that would preoccupy you. It’s a fog that can disillusion you from the real world. Yes, be in the know, but do not allow your life to be accumulating sin. Confess and walk with God under a full sun.

    1. Refuse All Hypocrisy

    Be who you are and not who others will you to be. Find your identity in the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep yourself off of the pedestals of this world or even your own world. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. We are accountable to Him.

  • For Cave Dwellers

    “There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul” (Psalm 142:4).

    David was beaten all the way down. Everything he counted on was now out of his life. There was no where else to look, but up, for David was at a critical juncture of his life. And when he looked up, cried out, God was there.

    When you and I decide not to walk away, God will make sure you know He is there. No matter if you feel as if you are in a cave God will climb into it with you. Better yet, He is already there. How unusual for God to work in your life or in my life, but He does.

  • A Foundation That Will Never Be Shaken

    Dear Church, 

    Our hearts are saddened by all the damage inflicted upon mankind with the destruction from Hurricane Helene. 

    May I give some critical thoughts for consideration? 

    1. Natural disasters give us the opportunity to respond to God.  We can be angry, especially if it were our house, our business, our child lost in the rushing water, or the fallen tree.  Or we can stand in awe of the mighty power of the Almighty. 
    1. The ground shook in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee as did the other states where landfall occurred, and the storm moved up and left.  The only thing that matters to many is to be able to find firm ground to stand upon. 
    1. The Bible instructs us to make sure that our lives are built upon a foundation that will never be shaken, a foundation that is not subject to the unpredictable forces of nature. 
    1. At Mt. Sinai, the Bible records the first earthquake as God gave the law to Moses.  Why?  God expects and commands those who are created by Him to tremble and be in awe of His power.  His voice speaks of the content of the moral law; the voice of nature (earthquake) spelled out God’s power and authority.  The Ten Commandments shouted His rules for living; the Trembling of Nature shouted His rules for worshipping.  We are to fear Him for this is not only appropriate but commanded. 
    1. God also spoke at Mt. Calvary and the earth quaked.  Jesus spoke words of kindness, mercy, and love even while He was being judged for our sins.  We should listen. “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.  For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to Listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!”  When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise:  “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 
    1. The earth will not go on forever.  Earthquakes and hurricanes remind us that life is short and that God will re-create a new heaven and a new earth.  Only what is eternal will remain. 
    1. We are to know that tragedies are teachers that instruct us to hold on to Christ tightly and hold everything else loosely. 

    The Eternal Kingdom will never be shaken.  Find your Firm ground to stand upon and thank God for His Unshakeable Kingdom. 

    Pastor Don 

  • Why the Church?

    Why is church attendance important? If the Christian is the body of Christ, then why does the church need to be in a building called the “church”? Isn’t having a friend over to have lattes just as meaningful? Or a few family members meeting together just as important?

     

    The church organized is the only organization that Jesus Himself established. Church is an “of course” to the Son of Man (Revelation 1). It was an “of course” to the early apostles (Acts 2:42-47).

     

    The church at large, which is largely absented, should be a prioritized who name the name of Christ. Instead of saying, “Why should I have to go to church?”; we should be asking, “What can I do to minister to and build up Christ’s own precious body, the church, and which I am a part?”

     

    God took disciples who needed much work and together they accomplished much, for they turned the world upside down. This is what God does with and through and in people who take seriously the mandate of the church to meet, to encourage, to learn, to love, to give, to worship and to go.

     

    The Bible tells us, “The eyes of the Lord run to and for throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). God isn’t looking for a strong man or a strong woman but rather someone whom He could be strong on behalf of.

     

    Get into and stay with the organization, the church. For without organization the organism dies. We need the interaction, accountability, and outlet for our gifts and talents that only the local church can provide. I believe that when God set up the first Church, He did it right.