Newsletter  July 12th

GREETINGS FROM BARBEE’S GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

Recently, I was driving out to Barbee’s Grove. I passed several fields of nice looking, knee high corn.  An old memory flashed back. In a previous church, one of my members had a beautiful field of corn. It was one of the best I have ever seen. The stalks were just beginning to form ears. We were at a church social event. This farmer was bragging that a potential buyer had offered him hundreds of dollars for that crop. The buyer would pay now. The crop was his to harvest when the time came. The farmer could have the cash now and no longer be responsible for the crop. 

The farmer bragged that he turned down the potential buyer. He was going to make a bigger profit for himself. Something strange happened. From the day of that church social event, until harvest season, not another drop of rain fell. The corn stalks dried up in the field and produced no crop at all. The potential buyer “dodged a bullet”. He did not lose the money he would have paid weeks earlier. The farmer lost the crop, plus the cost of his seed and fertilizer.

There is a relevant passage of Scripture:
   …”Listen, those of you who are boasting, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to another city and spend some time and go into business and make heaps of profit’. But you don’t have a clue what tomorrow may bring. For your fleeting life is but a warm breath of air that is visible in the cold only for a moment and then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘Our tomorrows are in the Lord’s Hands and if He is willing, we will live life to its fullest and do this or that’. But here you boast in your ignorance, for to be presumptuous about what you will do tomorrow is evil.” [James 4:13-16 TPT]

How correct James is. Only the Lord knows our tomorrows. The wise person has Jesus as his Lord and Savior. We never know when we will step into eternity, so we should be prepared. The wise person will also consult the Lord when making every decision.
I doubt the Lord cares whether you have a tomato sandwich or a banana sandwich for lunch, but there are choices He wants to help you make.
   …Education beyond High School? Yes? No? Where? Course of Study?
   …What will be your career?
   …Dating choices. Are you dating a strong Christian?
   …Marriage Partner. Has the Lord brought you together?
   …Where will you live?
   …Where will you work?
   …Which church will you attend?
   …What type of ministry will you have in the church and outside the church?
   …How will you vote? Political stance?
   …How will you rear your children?
   …Spending/Giving/Investment practices?

When Jesus is truly Lord of a person’s life, then doing His will on a daily basis is of utmost importance. To think that we can run our life without the wisdom of Almighty God is the height of foolishness and pride. The happiest, the most secure, the most productive, the most pleasing to the Lord, people, are those who constantly and consistently seek to live in God’s will for their lives!!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1. Sunday School is at 9:00 am
2. Morning Worship and Children’s Church are at 10:00 am. Also available in the parking lot at 10 on 99.1 FM and on the website after 12:30 pm
3. Prayer and Bible Study are Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall

Lord, Thy will is all that matters

Pastor Ed and Deacons of Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church