No More Overtime

Several weeks ago, my watch fell apart.  The band on it just broke.  Now, that may not be a terribly bad thing for some people in some professions, but for a preacher, that's a bad thing.  Well, at least the people in the congregation probably think so.  I was actually starting to grow pretty fond of not wearing a watch during church.  No worry about time constraints, just go till you finish.  I was a liberating feeling.  Well, yesterday, our most faithful family in the church surprised me with a brand new watch.  Now, this wasn't a cheap, Wal-Mart watch, this was a really nice watch.  They said it was in honor of our being here a year and just to let me know how much they appreciated me and my family. That, and they were tired of me going so long. (They were just kidding about that part, I really didn't go any longer without the watch than I did with the watch.)  I was very grateful to them.  I thank the Lord for meeting needs for us when we have them.  What a blessing that He uses His saints to encourage others. It makes me want to go out and encourage someone else today.  Servant of God, just keep on serving Him.  People are watching.  God is watching.

 

It also really challenged me to be my very best for the church.  In essence, they gave me time.  They gave me a watch.  I want to invest that time wisely.  I want to invest it in a way that God can use us to do great things for His honor and glory.  I am reminded of Ephesians 5:16, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  We all only have so much time to do a work for God.  If we are going to do anything, we must do it now.  We are not promised tomorrow.

 

By the way, I did tell them last night that they did good to buy the watch when they bought it. I told them usually on Sunday evenings I just preach until it is good and dark outside.  With this weekend being daylight savings time, that would have added an extra hour to the service.

Can I Trust Him?

Sunday morning I preached from Genesis 22.  It is the account of Abraham taking Isaac up Mt. Moriah to offer him as a sacrfice, just as God had instructed him to do.  I realize that the Scriptures do not say that he thought it, but if it were me, I would have been wondering, Can I Trust Him?  Can I really trust God with this?  Why is He testing me this way?  Isn't this just a little to much?  After all, Abraham had prayed for Isaac for many years before God gave him.  Isaac was Abraham's promised child, now, God is asking Abraham to sacrifice the thing he has prayed for and desired the most?  Surely I would have thought, and you probably would have too, Can I Trust Him?

   I don't know what test you may be facing right now, but I want to assure you, whatever it is, however huge it seems to be, you can trust Him.  God has no desire to hurt you.  He loves you too much for that.  He cares for you too much, He only wants what's best for you.  Of course the answer to the question is a resounding yes, I can trust Him.  Then another question came to my mind, how?  What is it that enables me to trust Him? 

    I thought of two things, two reasons, why I can trust Him.  I have an Isaac, He has a ram.  I have an Isaac, I have a promise from God that I can trust Him.  Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Now remember, things don't always work out good.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people. However, God has promised me that all things work together for good.  I may not understand why, but it will always be for the better.  I have a promise from God that tells me so.  That is my Isaac, the promises of God.  Another Isaac I have is previously answered prayer.  I have prayed before and seen God answer those prayers.  If He can answer prayer in the past, He can surely still answer them.  He hasn't changed. He never will.  I can trust Him because I have seen Him work on my behalf in the past and I know that He still is.

     I also know that God has a ram.  You see, while Abraham and Isaac were walking up that mountain, there was a ram that would soon be Isaac's substitute, walking up the other side.  God had already prepared a substitute for Isaac, even though Abraham didn't realize it yet.  God was working on Abraham's behalf before Abraham even knew it.  I know that God has everything under control. He is working on my behalf. He is already preparing the answers for tomorrow's problems.  No matter what I may face in the days ahead, I can take comfort in knowing that He has already prepared a ram, He is working on my behalf.  Therefore, because I have an Isaac and God has a ram, I know I can trust Him.  Whatever you are facing today, let me encourage you to hold onto your Isaac, the promises and past provisions of God, and remember that God is working on your behalf.

Extravagant Love

We had a good day here at Canaan yesterday.  With it being Valentine's Day, I felt led to preach on Extravagant Love.  The word extravagant means excessively high, exceeding the bounds of reason.  We looked at the example of Mary from Mark 14:1-9, when she broke open her alabaster box and poured the spikenard on the head and feet of Jesus and washed His feet with her hair.  This was, in my opinion, a great act of Extravagant Love.  My heart was convicted as I studied and preached on it.  The question kept coming to my mind, do I love the Lord that way?  I really want to, I strive to, but do I?  You see, Mary loved the Lord so much that she gave Him her greatest possession, her alabaster box with the spikenard ointment in it.  Do I love Him enough to give Him my greatest possessions?  What about you? Do you love Him with an extravagant love, witholding nothing back from Him, not even your greatest possession?  What is your greatest possession, your car, your home, your job, your career, your children?  Would you give it to the Lord if He asked?

There were four things we looked at concerning Extravagant Love yesterday morning:
  I.  Extravagant Love is Costly - it cost Mary something to love the Lord, her alabaster box and ointment.

 II.  Extravagant Love is Criticized - anytime you do anything for the Lord, there will always be a critic in the background.  This time, it was Judas. He called Mary's act of worship a waste.

III.  Extravagant Love is Commended - what Judas called a waste, the Lord called good.  He said that she had done a good work.  I pray that my work for the Lord would be a good work.

IV.  Extravagant Love is Cited - the memorial of what this lady did has been recorded in Scripture forever.  The Lord cited her good work for eternity.  What a blessing to know the Lord is keeping a record or our labor.  The things we think no one notices down here, He notices.  He'll not forget our love and labor for Him.

 

Extravagant Love.  May the Lord help me to love Him with a greater love than ever before.  I hope you had a good day yesterday.   

New Blog

I have decided to set up a new blog and start all over.  You can find the new blog here.  I hope that you will head over there and follow us on that blog.  Everyone needs a fresh start every now and then.

Twitter

Ok, so I know it's been a while since I have updated the blog. I have been playing with some other things as far as updates go. One of those things is twitter. Let's just say that I am probably much better at twittering (or whatever its called) than I am at blogging. You don't have to say as much, you just give it a line or two. If you would like to follow us at twitter, you can do so at www.twitter.com/travis1776. We also set up a twitter account for the church. You can follow that by going to www.twitter.com/CanaanBaptist Either one of these are great ways to keep up with what is going on in our busy lives. This doesn't meant that I won't blog again, I look forward to, but I just wanted to let you know what's been going on and why I haven't been blogging.

The Romance of Redemption

We had another great day yesterday at the Canaan Baptist Church of Covington, LA.  It is hard to believe that we are celebrating our one month anniversary.  Wow, time sure does fly.  The Lord has been blessing us with great services and we are so thankful for that.  Yesterday, in honor of Valentine’s Day (I thought about preaching something for President’s Day, but went with Valentine’s Day instead), I preached all day on one of the greatest love stories in the Bible, the story of Ruth and Boaz.  We title the whole day The Romance of Redemption.  Yes, it is a borrowed title but it still fit.  Yesterday morning I preached on Grace Exceeds.  We thought about Ruth as she entered Boaz’s field.  When she entered the field, she was only looking for a little corn to eat.  By the time the book of Ruth concludes, grace has given her far more than she could have ever imagined.  Grace exceeded her wildest dreams.  The same is true with us, my how grace exceeds all of my hopes and dreams.  Now, we all know that every good love story must have a happy ending, so we preached on Happily Ever After.  As a result of Ruth’s redemption, she was able to live happily ever after.  The same is true for us.  After we have been redeemed, we can certainly count on living happily ever after.  It was a great time and the Lord helped us immensely. 

Please continue to pray that God would provide us with a public building to meet in. We are praying that God would give us a place of our own.  We know that He is able to do just that.  We have looked at a couple of places, but just didn’t feel that they were right.  Please help us pray that we would find just the right place.  

 

Our First Service

This past Sunday, January 25^th , 2009, will go down in history as an exciting day.  Amongst the boxes that need to be unpacked, we met for church.  We  held the very first service of the Canaan Baptist Church of Covington, LA.  It was an awesome time as the Lord truly met with us.  We had 10 first time visitors Sunday morning (of course, that would include all of us).  It’s not many times that the Pastor is a first time visitor.  We met in our home for both Sunday morning and Sunday evening services.  Thank you to each and every person that has prayed and given over the years for us to be able to see this historic day.  We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do here in Covington, LA.  Please help us pray that we would soon find a permanent meeting place.  This is a great need.  We look forward to keeping you posted in the days ahead about the great things going on here in south Louisiana.

 

Moving Day

Wow, it is hard to believe that this day is actually here.  After several years of deputation, we are now moving to Covington, LA.  Lord wiling, the moving truck will be here in just a few hours from when I am writing this.  Our house is full of boxes, packed and ready to be put on the truck.  This is certainly an exciting time.  As I take just a few moments to reflect back over how God has so blessed my family during the course of deputation, I am truly humbled by His goodness.  I think of countless Christians and churches that He has used and continues to use to be a blessing to us and it amazes me.  For everyone that has mentioned our name in prayer, Thank you.  Please, don’t stop.  If ever we needed prayer, it is now.  Please pray for us during the course of the next few days.  These will be busy days with lots of different things going on.  Pray that all goes well.  I trust the Lord that it will.  We look forward to the next phase of life, the establishment of the Canaan Baptist Church of Covington, LA.  Pray that God will place His hand upon that place and use it mightily for His honor and glory.

I also want to take a moment and say a very special THANK YOU to our home church, Canaan Baptist Church of Covington, GA.  I can truthfully say that deputation was easier because of this special group of people.  The Lord blessed my family to have this great church as our sending church.  They have given on our behalf, prayed for us, encouraged us, been there for us when we needed a friend, and so much more.  I thank my God for the privilege of being a part of Canaan Baptist Church.  They have been so good to us as we prepare to leave for the field.  I know that we have their continued prayers and support and for that, I am truly thankful.

 

Merry Christmas

I wanted to take just a moment and wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas.  I know that the hustle and bustle of Christmas can often be frustrating and stressful, but please take a moment at this most precious time of year to remember the Reason for the season.  Christ was born a babe in Bethlehem’s manger, not just to be a cute baby, but with a much greater purpose.  He was born to die.  He offered to us the greatest gift that mankind could ever be given, the gift of eternal life.  Let that peace dwell in your soul this year.  From my entire family, Merry Christmas.  Thank you for your prayers and support this past year.  We are excited and looking forward to greater things in the year ahead.

 

Tremendous Article

As a church planter with children, there are many choices and challenges that we face that others may never know about.  We want to serve the Lord with our whole hearts, but we also want what is best for our children.  Sometimes it may seem difficult to balance those two things.  Jason Janz is a church planter in Denver, CO that has recently faced such a decision.  He writes a great article about it that I thought I would share with you this morning.

 

Article Here

 

Snow and Praise

As we awoke this morning, we were quite surprised to look out the window and see the van covered in snow and to see snow still falling quite heavily.  Now, this would be an unusual thing if we were at home in Covington, GA, but we’re not.  We are in Covington, LA.  That’s right, it is snowing in south Louisiana.  Unbelievable.

We have spent the last few days in Covington, LA looking for a house to live in when we move.  While down here, we were also blessed to attend the Louisiana Independent Baptist Fellowship.  This was an incredible group of guys who were all very supportive of our plans.  I do believe that they will do all they can to help us.  We spent a good deal of Monday and Wednesday riding around town, looking at any available house we could find.  Praise the Lord, He sent us to one on Wednesday that wasn’t advertised and we loved it.  We were able to secure and are excited about having a house here now. The Lord is good.

 

Chance Encounter

Yesterday, my family and I went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch.  It was one of those places where you watch them cook in front of you.  If you have ever been to one of those, you know that it is community seating, meaning you sit beside strangers.  We sat beside a lady named Rosie.  As it turns out, Rosie is from New Orleans.  She is staying in the area with her sister, as she evacuated ahead of the Gustav.  Rosie’s husband, August, is a firefighter for the city of New Orleans.  I promised Rosie that we would pray for August as he serves his community.  We took a moment there at the table to ask God’s protection upon August.  Will you please help us pray for the safety or August?  Not only August, but all those in the path of this fierce storm.  

Pray for Protection

I know that many of you have been watching the weather and the intense storm that is approaching south Louisiana. May I beg you to please pray for the protecting hand of God during all of this for those folks? This is not looking good. Please join me in praying for the area, that the Lord would watch over them and protect them.

Exciting Times

I must confess, I am a political junkie. I love politics, especially presidential politics. This time of the year is so interesting to watch. I enjoy watching all the maneuvering and positioning that everyone does. I confess, I even watched the Democratic Convention, nearly every night. I look forward to next week and the Republican Convention. This is truly an historic election. I don't go around telling folks how to vote. I only want to encourage you to pray and vote as you feel the Lord would have you to.

Awesome Thought

In the past month or so, we have had a number of people email and write us to let us know that they are praying for us. What an awesome thought, to know that people are praying for our family. I have even had people that I have never met email me to let me know that they are praying that God would get us to the field. I don’t ever want to take lightly that Christians would care enough to pray for us. Thank you all for the prayers that have been offered up on our behalf. We need it. We are so close, we just need you to continue praying that God would send in the remaining few churches so that we can be on our way.

Time Flies

It’s hard to believe it has been so long since I posted.  I know that is a pattern for me.  I am still trying to get in the habit of writing more often.  I did want to drop a quick note to let you know that since our last update, we have had a couple of new churches take us on and still have promises from several more.  PLEASE help us pray that we would see the churches we need take us on soon.  We are so close.  I feel like the Lord is working on our behalf.  We are trusting the Lord to send in these last few churches.  I know that He can do it.  God can do all things.  Please help us pray. 

Getting Closer

Thank you to all who take the time to visit the blog.  I know I often have difficulty keeping it updated, mainly for wondering if I have anything interesting to say.  Today I wanted to ask you to continue to pray for our goal of 20 new churches.  We have seen four new churches take us on so far and have three promises of churches that will begin supporting us.  This takes our goal down to 13.  We must have those 13 churches before we can move.  Please help us pray that God would supply as only He can.  It is only God that can lay it upon a church’s heart to begin supporting us.  We realize that we do our part, and He will do His.  Keep praying and as the Lord sends those churches in, we will begin packing and getting ready to go.

 

It's The Soldier

I heard this the other day and finally found it online.  I thought you might enjoy it.

 

It's not the reporter who gives you the freedom of the press, it’s the soldier.

It's not the poet who gives you the freedom of speech, it’s the soldier.

It's not the campus organizer who allows you to demonstrate, it’s the soldier.

It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag, that allows the protester to bum that flag!!!!

 

I for one want to say thank you to the brave men and women that serve our country so admirably.  Remember, it is the soldier that gives us the freedom to enjoy the wonderful liberties we enjoy.  

 

Memorial Day

It is just a little after 3:00 p.m. as I write this and our country has just observed a moment of silence to show our gratitude for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.  I would like to publicly thank all the brave men and women who have served our country.  I also thank the families of those brave soldiers.  I understand that it is a family affair.  I know that without those sacrifices, we would not have the freedom to stand and boldly proclaim the Word of God.  Thank you, soldiers, for your contributions to our freedom.

However, as we think of sacrifices for freedom, we must remember the One who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have the ultimate freedom.  Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins on Calvary so that our souls could be set free from the penalty of sin.  No more does sin have to rule and reign over us.  Jesus Christ laid down His life so that we could be free.  As we thank the soldiers who made our country free, let us also remember to thank the Saviour who set our souls free.

 

His Grace Is Sufficient

This afternoon I had the privilege of going to visit with Bro. Roger Blevins for a few minutes.  Many of you no doubt have been praying for Bro. Blevins since his accident in early February.  This was the first time I had been able to visit with him and boy was I thankful that I was able to.  It was a tremendous blessing for me to stand there and listen to Bro. Blevins explain how that “God’s grace is sufficient.”  Just to make sure we understood exactly what he was saying, he raised one hand in the air and proclaimed again, “God’s grace is sufficient.”  He told us how that he had been through things before in life, but nothing quite like this.  However, he was glad to report that God’s grace is still sufficient.  What an encouragement this was for me.  You see friends, I don’t know what difficulty you may be facing as you read this, but I can assure you, that God’s grace is sufficient for your needs right now.  If you don’t believe me, just ask a man who has spent the last nearly three months in ICU and the hospital fighting for his life.  God’s grace is sufficient.