Let's Help the New Staff Members at FSBC

Dear Church Family,

As you know we have called Peter Cunningham as our High School/College minister, and, Lord willing, we may be calling ___________ to be our next Minister of Music this Sunday.

Both men are trying to sell their homes. So please pray for a quick sell.

Also, to relieve some of their stress during the transition, I have set up transition fund to help provide temporary housing for them until they sell their homes. A gracious church member has provided two apartments for them at a very reasonable price. However, they can’t afford payments on a home and an apartment.

I am asking our church family to give a little extra, above your regular tithe, for the transition fund. Please Prayerfully consider helping.

I love being your pastor!

Pastor Patrick

God's Plan Prevails

God is sovereign and in control. I am constantly reminded of this from Proverbs 16:9, "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." This means that no door will open for us, unless God opens it, and no door will close, unless God closes it. A good illustration of this is found in a true story that happened in Swan Quarter, North Carolina, in 1876.

The Methodist Episcopal Church South needed a new building. Therefore, when an individual donated a lot on Oyster Creek Road, they gratefully accepted the gift. The property was in a low-lying area, so they properly constructed the new building up on brick pilings. A few days later a terrible storm came to the area. The town flooded! The new church building was lifted from the brick pilings by the rising waters, and it started floating down the road. People witnessed as the church, still intact, moved down the center of town. At the town center, the building made a sharp right turn and continued to drift with the water until it landed in a vacant lot.

What is amazing is that 130 years later the church still stands in the same lot it landed in, and today is called the Providence Methodist Church. Even more astonishing is the fact that the lot that it landed in was the first lot that the church chose for their new building, but the landowner would not sell it. The morning after the flood, he presented the pastor with the deed. We can make our plans, but God will always determine our steps.

On Your Backside?

I watched curiously the other day as a turtle struggled to turn itself right side up. At first, I assumed the turtle could never do it, but I was wrong. The turtle spastically flailed about its head, neck and legs until it was no longer upside down. And getting right side up is a matter of life and death for the turtle.

Life can often put us on our backside also. Therefore, the real challenge as believers is to find our way back to our feet. So, how do we get back on our feet when life knocks us down?

The ballast of worship: The greatest thing we can do when life has us down is turn our eyes to Jesus. I’m reminded of Psalm 73 in which the author admitted to God that he struggled with life and stumbled on account of the wicked enjoying blessings. It wasn't until he went to worship that he was able put things into perspective. Notice what happened when he put his eyes back on the Lord, “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end” (Psalm 73:17).

The ballast of community: We need each other! Paul said it well, “Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

The ballast of hope: When David struggled with being upside down in life, he preached to himself, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence” (Psalm 42:5). Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “We judge of man's wisdom by his hope.”

If life has you on your backside at this time, I encourage you to choose worship, community, and hope. Get on your feet and declare like one anonymous pastor, “I am a disciple of Christ…I will not let up, look back or slow down. My face is set; my goal is sure, my way is rough, my companions few, my God is reliable; my mission is clear…I am a disciple of Christ, I must go until he comes.”

Dealing with Distractions

Many things will come our way that will distract us from God’s plan and purpose for our lives. How do we overcome those distractions?

Nehemiah gives us some wonderful truths that, if applied, will help us overcome distractions. We can’t avoid the distractions that come our way, but we sure can have victory of them. Nehemiah’s response reveals the keys to success.

Stay focused on the mission
Nehemiah’s first distraction came in the form of a seemingly pleasant invitation, “Come, and let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono” (Nehemiah 6:2). This was an invitation from the enemy distract Nehemiah from the work of God, and hopefully bring the work to a halt.

Fortunately, Nehemiah knew that the men who made the invitation were trying to harm him (Nehemiah 6:2). He knew that the invitation would take him away from what was really important. Therefore, he responded with a statement of God’s mission for his life, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3). Nehemiah understood his mission and was committed to keep focused on his mission.

Good things distract many people in the church. Why? They have lost focus of the mission. They allow opportunities and activities draw them away from church life and serving the Lord. They become inconsistent in church life, or they become non-existent in church life.

Stay strengthened through prayer
The next distraction for Nehemiah came in the form of slander (Nehemiah 6:5-7). Nehemiah was wise enough to know that the slander was not a critical issue that needed to be addressed, but another wasteful distraction from the enemy.

We will experience many hurts while serving the Lord, and some will come from brothers and sisters in Christ. Many people allow those hurts to distract them from the work. Not Nehemiah! He found strength from the Lord through prayer, “O God, strengthen my hands” (Nehemiah 6:9). Only grace can enable us to persevere and endure hurtful distractions.

Stay faithful to the word
Nehemiah’s third distraction comes in the form of spiritual seduction (6:10). The enemy wanted to seduce Nehemiah to disobey the word of God. Nehemiah overcame the seduction because of his faithfulness to the word of God. He not only knew the word, he obeyed it.

Don’t let the enemy distract you from what is important! Only what is done for Christ will last!