2007 Christmas Party & A Million $$ Life

Don't forget the 2007 NHSM Christmas Party. It is set for December 15th. For more information and directions contact the church offices. Remember it is a white elephant party. Bring a gift to exchange with someone. We will be meeting at the church on the 15th, van will pull out for the party at 5:30 SHARP. Don't be late!!!

I haven't bought a baseball bat for a while, but I know you can buy one that's cheap and may not last long or one that costs a little more. I seem to remember the old Louisville Slugger bats. But a million-dollar baseball bat? That's a little out of my price range. And lest you think I've lost it, not long ago a massive 46-ounce Louisville Slugger bat sold at auction for $1.26 million dollars! What in the world could possibly make a simple baseball bat worth that much to anyone? Who used it. It was the bat used by Babe Ruth in the first baseball game in the new Yankee Stadium in 1923. In the third inning, the Babe blasted a home run right into the right field bleachers, and somebody just laid down over a million for the bat he used.

It was just a piece of wood until someone important used it to do something important. That's what gave that bat such great value. And that's what gives ordinary humans like you and me a whole new value - being used by the most important person in the universe to do something He considers important. An ordinary life is never quite ordinary again once that life has been used by Almighty God.

And His choice of the person He will use is not based on the things most people look for. God doesn't care about charisma, or credentials, or connections, or cash. He's looking for character. He's a holy God, and He can only use holy instruments; people who keep themselves clean for His service.

Paul paints a picture of two kinds of believers - one useful to the Lord and one of little use to Him - in 2 Timothy 2, beginning with verse 15, He says, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved." (P.S. here: Missionary martyr Jim Elliot said the only degree he really wanted was his A. U. G. degree - Approved Unto God.) The verse goes on to say, "a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth ... In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble." Even our house has some things we use for throwing away trash and others that we use to serve special people for special occasions.

So what do I have to do to have the honor; the incredible value of being someone that the High King of Heaven can use? "If a man cleanses himself," the Bible says, "he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." Man, those are beautiful words, "useful to the Master." Just like you or me going to the kitchen to find a glass to drink from, God is looking for someone who's clean to use. And He doesn't find very many. What a powerful reason for you to keep your heart and your mind pure, to repent of the junk you're hanging onto, to meet with Jesus daily for that day's tune-up, to aspire to be, as Robert Murray McCheyne said, "as holy as a saved sinner can be." You'll be God's man, God's woman, through whom God's work will be done in people's lives. That temptation, that compromise can't possibly be worth losing out on a destiny like that!

The beautiful thing is that anybody can qualify to be used by God. It's your passionate purity, your total surrender to be used totally for His purposes that qualifies you. You've abandoned your dreams for your life for His dreams for your life. They're so much bigger and so much better. And the greatest legacy of your life will be to join Him in the rescue mission that changes people's eternity from hell to heaven. He's inviting you to join Him in that rescue mission for which He died.

Make yourself available to the Lord of the universe and keep yourself clean for Him. When He picks up a life to use it, it takes on a meaning and a significance that nothing on earth can even get close to. And in God's hands, your life can be a holy home run!

Missing the View

I wanted to remnd you that Disciple Now 07 is just around the corner. Keenan Braden will be our speaker and M'rod will be doing the music. Disciple Now will begin on Friday October 19th @ 5:30 with a meal and then M'rod will lead us in worship. After which Keenan will speak to us and then you will go to your host homes and have a short Bible study and maybe sometime that night you all will go to sleep.

There will be schedules for you all in the youth area Sunday.

I hope you all have been praying and about Disciple Now and the leaders.

Here is our thought for the day.

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Few people captured the American imagination like America's first astronauts. That's why, for many of us, names like John Glenn are on a list of 20th Century heroes. John Glenn was, of course, one of the first men to ride a rocket into space. Then, years later, as a "senior citizen" he amazed the world by doing it again. So when John Glenn gives advice to today's space shuttle astronauts, he's got credentials! I love what he is reported to have told the Columbia astronauts before what turned out to be their last flight. He said, "Hey, don't forget to look out the window!"

Once they were in space, the Columbia astronauts - and other astronauts - expressed their appreciation for John Glenn's advice. They confessed to being so busy doing what they were doing that it was all too easy to miss the spectacular view all around them. A tendency, by the way, that isn't just limited to astronauts. Those of us who are highly task-oriented or goal-oriented (that's me), can easily get so consumed that we "forget to look out the window." We miss the beautiful things happening right in front of us and all around us.

In Psalm 103, David seems to be addressing this tendency to miss or forget a lot of life's blessings. Beginning with verse 1, he says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives our sins and heals our diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things."

When you take time to enjoy the beauty "out the window" you'll see the new beginnings the Lord has given you after you've blown it: the health that He's preserved or restored, the pits that He's rescued you from, the little and big things that He's doing right now to show you His love, and the good things you wanted that He has provided. When you fail to stop and "smell the flowers" as some have said, you start to get all stressed, brittle and overwhelmed and negative. But taking a timeout to catch your breath, regain your perspective, and appreciate all the good things around you will renew your joy, it will renew your energy, your faith, and your attitude.

Maybe in your hurry to get it done or to get to your destination you've inadvertently been running over people, including people you should stop and enjoy; stop and listen to. Maybe you're missing all the blessings in your situation because all you focus on is your burdens. You need to take some timeouts to let your soul catch up with your body. Enjoy the scenery. Stop the rat race long enough to just take a leisurely walk, take time to listen to a child. They often help us see the world as we ought to see it. Stop to give a hug, look for things you can compliment in the people around you, and consciously, intentionally thank God for specific blessings of the past 24 hours, or the past 24 minutes.

The Bible reminds us that God's "mercies are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23), which means there's new God-stuff to appreciate each new day for those who are looking for evidence of God in their day. If you're tired and if you're tense and you're feeling overwhelmed, it could be you've been so absorbed in your mission that you've forgotten to look out the window.

There's always something beautiful to see because of the awesome God who's always doing something new and something good.

"Winning the Battle With the Animal Inside."

Several years ago on an Indian reservation, a friend there told us about an elderly neighbor of hers who had taken an unusual pet into her house. It was a half wolf and half dog. Half wild and half domesticated and, as it turned out, big trouble. One morning that wolf dog picked up the lady's granddaughter and began to carry her away. The grandmother saw it, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. The animal stopped and froze in this moment of evident struggle between his wild side and his tame side. The wolf dog looked straight at this screaming lady, totally unafraid; his wild side wasn't scared at all. His wild side wanted that child for food. But then in one dramatic moment, the animal dropped the child and let her go. The tame side finally won, but there were still a lot of scars.


The battle between the wild side and the tame side is a battle we humans know all too well, because it seems they both live inside us and they're both strong. One Biblical writer, Paul, the apostle, wrote about this struggle in these words: "What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Romans 7:15).


If you're tired of the animal inside you winning, if you're tired of the scars it's left on you and the people you care about, then you're ready for a look at the Word of God in Galatians 5:16. You'll hear the struggle, but you'll hear the solution, too. The Bible says: "Live by the Spirit (that's God the Holy Spirit, who lives in everyone who belongs to Jesus), and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Does that sound familiar at all?

Here are the two menus of the kind of person you're going to be, depending on which side wins. "The acts of the sinful nature (that's the animal inside) are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. Those who live like that will not inherit the kingdom of God."

That's deadly stuff from our wild side. But it goes on to say, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Here's the hard truth about the animal inside. You can't tame him; it's too strong. You can strive all you want, make all the commitments to change that you want, the monster will still win very often. But when you get Jesus, the Holy Spirit moves into your life with all the power there is.

The winning secret is in Ephesians 5:18, "Be filled with the Spirit." That means controlled by, taken over by the Holy Spirit, which means you stop trying to change by your own efforts. You trade striving for surrendering all of you completely to the Holy Spirit of God.


If you lay a glove on a chair and ask it to move the chair, the glove will just lay there. But if you put your hand in that glove, that glove will pick up the chair and do what a glove can't do by the power of the hand inside it. You're just God's glove, powerless to subdue your sinful side. But if you surrender all control of that glove and let God put His hand in there, His power will move what you've never been able to move and change what you've never been able to change.

The Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross to rescue us from the power and the penalty of our sin. If you've never reached out to Him in faith and said, "Jesus, you're my only hope. I'm Yours," I urge you to do that today.

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Someone (Rob Taylor) gave me pictures from the cookout a few weeks ago. As I was looking through the pictures, one just stuck out. Not because of who was in it, but because of the way it was taken. Here's the picture,

Being a Witness where you are

If you are in either Anderson or Woodford County school system then you are back inside the walls of public education. You are in the trenches of the largest mission field and I wanted to talk to you about being a missionary to your friends. Now ladies, please forgive me for this illustration, but it fits perfectly. Okay.

He was one of the outstanding place kickers in the National Football League, helping his team win some memorable games with his field goal accuracy. But he had a spiritual hole in his heart. As he tells his story - which he did before tens of thousands of people at a Billy Graham Mission - it was a sudden, debilitating disease that got his attention. He began to be aware how desperately he needed the God who could do what he could never do. He points to the man who was his ball-holder as the one who really showed him Jesus. Of course, when that football is snapped to the holder for that field goal attempt, it's the sure hands of the ball holder that the kicker depends on completely. But this former star, now a highly visible ambassador for Christ in his community, tells insightfully how much his Christian teammate really meant in his life. He explains it this way: "He wasn't just holding the football in his hands, he was holding my eternal future in his hands!"

If you're on Jesus' team, that's the position you're playing for people around you whether you realize it or not. You are, in a sense, holding their eternity in your hands, because you know Jesus and they don't. And if you don't tell them, they probably never will. Which means they have no hope of this life ever making sense, and no hope of heaven when they die.

Many of us just don't realize the amazing position God has given us; a position that gives you the possibility of your life mattering forever and ever. That position is spelled out in II Corinthians 5:18-20, "God ... reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (That's bringing together someone Jesus died for with the Man who died for them.): that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are, therefore, Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

So that's why you are where you are, doing what you do, knowing who you know - you're there to take those folks in one hand and Jesus in the other hand and bring them together! How are you doing? It's as if we're saying, "Jesus couldn't be here in person, but He put me here to tell you about Him." Your message isn't about your religion compared to their religion. It's about life's most important relationship! Remember, it's a message of reconciliation! A relationship we were created to have, but a relationship we don't have because we've run our own life. A relationship, though, that we can have because of what Jesus did, and it's a relationship you must choose. It's that simple, and it's life-or-death information - eternal life-or-death.

It isn't so much that Jesus is asking you to go out on some witnessing raid of people you don't know. He wants you to do what you already do every day for eternity, by trying to take some of the people you're with all the time to heaven with you.

You may think there's someone more qualified but you're the one who's there, and you're there by God's divine assignment. Don't miss the mission He put you there for! Jesus has placed you in the middle of some people whose eternity depends on them knowing Him, and you are holding their eternity in your hands!

Up Coming Events

August 11,2007
Cookout at the Bowman house ( Parents are encouraged to attend)
meet at the church @ 5:30pm
return to the church @ 9:30pm
It will be a time of games, food, fun and maybe music.
Sign up sheets are in the youth center.

August 18, 2007
SUPER SATURDAY @ Immanuel Baptist Church
9:00 to 3:00 (meet at the church at 8:00 am)
Lunch will be provided

Cost is $20.00
There will be a main speaker and worship leader along with 2 breakout sessions.
The sessions cover: Basic Bible Study,
Help Your Youth Pastor
How to take the Gospel to your family and friends
You get to pick two of the three sessions. Sign up sheet is in the youth area.

A Word of Thanks:
I wanted to take this time to thank the youth who came out during VBS and helped. It was wonderful to see you pitching in to help and watching you interact with not only the adults, but the children. Some of you may never know the impact you had on those children.

Finally,

D-Now is scheduled for October 19-21
What your mail for more information.

The Cost of not Changing

Camp is coming, are you ready? We leave out on Sunday June 3rd for Jonathan Creek. Don't be late.
Now if you know anything about me, you know I love to eat and breakfast has become one of my favorite times of the day. It is when I get to sit down with my family and we can talk, laugh and just be together. Well, my favorite breakfast meal is pancakes or waffles and you have to have maple syrup, not just any maple syrup, it has to be Vermont maple syrup. Once you've tasted Vermont maple syrup, all those store brands just taste like goo! So my ears perked up when NBC Nightly News started talking about the troubles that Vermont maple farmers were having this year. They focused on one farmer who lives on a farm where they've been mapling for eight generations! This farmer (his name is Burr) has known that the maple trees are ready to be tapped for their valuable sap during the first week of March. It's always been that way. But recent weather changes have suddenly thrown that predictable harvest schedule into total confusion. Last year, he and his son nearly lost a third of their normal maple sap because it was either too soon or too late to capture it. For all those eight generations, Burr's family has used one time-honored method of tapping their maple trees; a spout on the tree and a bucket underneath. There is a new technology that enables a farmer to know when the sap is ready and to capture it in that brief window. But tubes and vacuums seemed pretty foreign to a man who's known one way that worked all his life and for generations. But after all they lost last year, his son finally convinced Burr to spend $10,000 for that new equipment. His son's comment was, "It takes some coercion to get him to go along with new ideas, for sure." But the veteran farmer did it. The NBC News reporter identified why. He would do anything to keep the farm for his son. In the reporter's words, "Even if it means doing what he hates the most - changing his old ways."

When the method you know, and the method you're comfortable with is costing you the harvest, you change or you lose the harvest. How can that lesson be lost on those of us who have joined Jesus in what He came to earth to do - seeking and saving the lost? Jesus called the work of bringing people to Him harvest. And honestly, there's a harvest many Christians and many ministries are losing because we hate to change. While North American Christians have built this massive Christian subculture, we've been losing our culture. And the lost people around us have changed dramatically. They don't know God's rules; they don't know God's Book; they don't know the religious words we use; they don't ever plan to go to any of our religious meetings. But in many cases, we're deciding what we'll do to reach them based on what we're comfortable doing. But since when does a rescuer decide what he's going to do based on what's comfortable for him? He does whatever he has to do to save that dying person!

Listen to God's greatest harvester, the Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:22, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." Just before this, he's told us that when he's with the Jews, he comes in a Jewish package; when he's with the Gentiles, he's as Gentile as God will allow him to be; when he's with those who need an uncomplicated presentation of Christ, he becomes what they need. All the time making sure that he is never "ashamed of the Gospel of Christ" (Romans 1:16). And Paul followed a Savior who constantly changed the package and the presentation to break through to changing audiences. But they never changed the product! They never compromised the message! Like that Vermont farmer, we're harvesting the same product, but we'll change the way we get at it as much as the harvest requires.

So are you willing to change so we can bring in the harvest of lost lives? Will you learn to tell them about Jesus in their words, not our Christianese? Are you willing to use the kind of program, the kind of music, the kind of package that speaks the language of the person you're trying to reach? That's Missions 101! Are you willing to reach them in locations where they're comfortable? Are you willing to introduce the Gospel by starting with the needs they care about? We're talking change here; what we hate to do the most. But the cost of not changing is much higher than the cost of changing - souls lost forever because we wouldn't change.

Picture of events and an update

This is just one of the many pictures that were taken the night the youth challenged the Pastor Staff to a Volleyball game. It was a fun time and a great chance for the parents and adults to interact with the students.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it so much fun. One questions still remains, when do we do it again?



We are close to having all the funds needed for camp. Right now we are about $65.00 short per person going, so be in prayer that God will provide the rest of the funds needed to go.

have I told you all lately how honored I am to be here serving with you all? Each day I am thankful for this ministry and that God has seen fit to allow me to be a apart of it and I pray we are making a positive impact on the lives of the students. Be in prayer as we prepare for the summer moths and the different mission projects that are in the works. We are striving to become hands a feet to those in the congregation of New Hope Baptist church.



















Someone asked last week why I haven't posted anything for a few weeks, well if you look closely at this picture,you will see why. The NHSM decided to "Punk" their Youth Pastor by trashing his office. I think it took 16 LARGE garbage bags to get all of the paper out of my office, but in the process of cleaning it up. I lost the access code to the blog. Nothing real big, as you can tell I got it back.

Any way I wanted to share these pictures with you and now let's look at God's Word.



I guess it might be nice to own a copy of the Declaration of Independence. It's not on my top ten list of things I'd like to have, but if it's cheap, why not? That's what one man thought when he bought a copy of the Declaration in a thrift store. He spent a whopping $2.48. Such a deal! It turns out what he bought for $2.48 is one of 200 copies John Quincy Adams had made in 1823. It's going on sale soon. It's expected to sell for a quarter of a million dollars!

Somebody looked at that old copy of a document and made a serious mistake. They undervalued it, big-time! Of course, we make that mistake too, with people. It's happened to someone who's reading this right now. You've been undervalued many times, perhaps by many people. It's to the point where you've come to believe yourself that you're not really worth that much. How could you be after the names you've been called, the rejection you've experienced, the failed relationships, and the ways you've been treated?
I've got news for you. None of those people have any idea of what you're really worth, anymore than some merchant knew what that rare Declaration of Independence was worth. But somebody knows, and they'll pay a lot for it. Somebody knows what you're really worth. You can tell. He paid a lot for you. He is no one less than the Son of God. Here's how the Bible puts it: "You are not your own; you were bought at a price" (I Corinthians 6:19-20). The price that Jesus paid for you is spelled out graphically in Revelation 5:9. The inhabitants of heaven are saying to Jesus: "You were slain, and with your blood You purchased men for God." Jesus thought you were worth the shedding of His blood; the blood of the one and only Son of God. Think about that cross where He hung with nails in His hands and feet, a crown of thorns jammed on His head, a spear driven into His side, and say these two words, "For me." That's how bad your sin was. It took that to pay for it. And that's how big God's love for you is. He did that so He wouldn't lose you. Sin is serious business. It's living the way you want to live instead of the way your Creator made you to live. It's the spiritual hijacking of your life from the One who gave it to you in the first place. And hijacking is punishable by a death penalty. I deserved that penalty. Jesus stepped in and said, "Take me instead." In the words of the Bible, "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). He really, really loves you. He's the One who gave you your worth when He made you His one-of-a-kind original. He wants to restore the worth that sin has taken from you. But you have to choose Him. He won't force His way into your life. You'll have to invite Him. That invitation involves a lifetime choice to turn from running your own life to putting your life in His hands, where it's belonged all along. It's a step of total trust in Him as being your only hope of having your sins forgiven, of going to heaven, of experiencing the love you were made for. He's waiting for you to tell Him with all your heart, "Jesus, I am Yours." After all He's paid for you, is there any reason not to trust Him?

The Christian life is like walking around with an anvil in your backpack

by James MacDonald:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

The Christian life is like an anvil in your back pack, just a heavy weight with no desire or delight, just duty and drudgery that weighs you down with sorrow, like an anvil in your back pack. The Christian life is just like that . . . if you’re not living it.

The Christian life is like turkey dinner with all the trimmings, right on the table in front of you, with all the sumptuous aromas rising to your nostrils and your stomach demanding you grab a fork and DIG IN!!! but you can’t because you’re on a diet and you need to go have another protein shake and let someone else enjoy the meal. The Christian life is exactly like that . . . if you’re not living it.

The Christian life is like you’re in prison, but just outside your cell are all these people at a festival, eating Mexican and doing the cha-cha, and swinging at this piñatas and laughing and twirling one another about and throwing their heads back with heart-felt laughter, but there you are, gripping the bars and looking on as you try to remember the last time you had fun. The Christian life is just like that . . . if you’re not living it.

Too many of us are not really living the Christian life-not really following hard after the Lord, not really seeking His face and devouring His Word, and loving His praise, not telling others about what Jesus can do for them, not really extending ourselves for those who are hurting and spending our lives in service to Christ.

I could go on and on, but I’ll just say that you shouldn’t judge the Christian life too harshly if you’re not really living it. If you feel like you have an anvil in your back pack, all weighed down with guilt and shame and defeat, if you’re wondering where all the joy and peace and blessings are-maybe you’re not really living the Christian life. James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

I’ve found that the Christian life is Wonderful in every way . . . if you’re really living it!

Car wash rescheduled

Well we tried it again and the weather would not be kind and let us wash the cars of Versailles, Kentucky and the surrounding area. So we might try again next week. Keep your soap and buckets handy and we will let you know.

Camp is not that far off and as we get ready to leave I hope you have been praying about the week of camp and that God will do great things among us and that He will use this time to prepare us for what we have to do in the future.

Too many time we (and I do this to) look at what the fun things about camp are, the water games, the activities the music. We need to understand those are just tools that we as Christans can use to reach out to our lost friends. It is a way we can help to break down the wall of disbelief our friend has when it comes to the person of Christ and their need for Him in their lives.

Is your name special?!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 846 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

The May Calendar

Saturday May 5 Car Wash: Valvoline Versailles, KY 9-4

Saturday May 12 Destination Unknown 12-4pm

May 13 "Mother Day" [Don't forget the lady who brought you into the world]

May 19 Car Wash & Bake Sale: Wal-Mart Lawrenceburg,
Volleyball/cookout at the church

May 20 "Pig Out: bring your favorite snack food and or drink

May 27 Aluminum Can Collection: [There will be special marked containers for you to drop off your crushed aluminum cans]

May Birthday's
Dino Payne 6th
John Taylor 8th
WIL Blincoe 22

Churches, Christians and Other Hang-ups

I have been busy with school and other stuff so I have neglected posting anything. Plus why post when you have nothing to say? School is almost over for me, but for the students they have testing this week and then smooth sailing till the end of the semester.
I have been working on the calendar for the upcoming month and put in the mail yesterday. For those of you how have the tendency to "misplace" mailings from the church. I have tried to post the schedule here on the blog, so that you can have easy access to the events for the month of May.

Okay, now since we have all that out of the way, let talk about an aspect of our every day life.

With today's technology, we can tape a TV program and fast-forward past the commercials to get to the program. With the sorry state of a lot of shows today, it might be smarter to fast forward past the program and just watch the commercials. A lot of them are more entertaining than the show they're part of! There's one I've seen recently that's a little strange, but I sure do remember it. It's advertising a particular pain reliever. They start their fairly annoying advertisement for the product and then suddenly interrupt it for this one aggravated person looking at the camera. They've got this great line, addressed to the company whose product is being advertised: "I hate your commercials - but I love your product!"

I have to be brutally honest with you about this Christian thing. A lot of people really don't like our commercials. The advertisements for Jesus are the people who claim to follow Him - like me; the churches and organizations that claim to operate in His name. And it may be that your experiences with Christians and Christianity have caused you to say, "I hate your commercials." There are many bright and attractive representatives of Jesus, but there are also a lot who don't represent Him very well.

My appeal to you is this: Don't miss the product just because you don't like the "commercials." The issue is, in the Bible's words, "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (I Corinthians 2:2). Jesus and the cross where He died for you.

There's a great story in the Bible about Jesus that makes the point pretty well. Let me just let the story speak for itself. It's in Mark 2, beginning with verse 1, "When Jesus entered Capernaum, the people heard that He had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven' ... He said to the paralytic ... 'Get up, take your mat and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all."

Here was a man whose only hope was Jesus, but there were all these people and obstacles between him and Jesus. They could have turned away, and this man would have never experienced the healing and the forgiving touch of Jesus. But they didn't let the hindrances stop them. He got to Jesus, no matter what it took, and he was healed.

That can be you, if you'll look past the disappointing commercials - beyond Christians - and just look at Christ. He said, "Follow Me," so it's all about Jesus. He didn't say follow My followers or follow My religion. He said, "Follow Me." Don't let bad commercials make you miss the product - the only man who loved you enough to die for every sin you've ever committed. The only man who was willing and able to go through our hell so we could have heaven. The only man in history powerful enough to beat death by walking out of His grave under His own power. There's nothing not to love about this man. And this man is who you have to decide about. The hypocrites, the poor examples, the mistakes Christians make; none of those have a thing to do with where you'll spend eternity. It's all about Jesus - now and forever.

PIG OUT

FYI:

Sunday Night (April 15, 2007) We will be having a PIG OUT in the Youth Dept. If you have a favorite desert or snack bring it along. We will have a short lesson and just spend sometime hanging out and eating.

"Bad Ways to Do Good Things."

A couple got married and decided they wanted to live and farm in a largely undeveloped area of the Ozark Mountains. They had some interesting neighbors - one in particular. He looked, talked, and smelled like a true man of the mountains who had little use for "civilization." After they declined his invitation to dinner many times, they finally consented. It was a memorable night. They stood on the porch of his cabin as he pointed to the hens running around the yard and said, "Tell me which chicken you want for dinner." They did and then they got to participate in executing the lucky winner. The conditions in which dinner was prepared would have given chest pains to any health inspector.

As they sat down at the table, they noticed a dark covering on one dish that they were about to eat. It turned out to be flies! After dinner, the two men sat in the living room and visited. The guest commented on the big holes all along the bottom of the cabin walls. His host explained that those holes were from the mice. "They must be mighty big mice and there must be a lot of them," the guest commented. The host smiled. "Oh, the holes are from me killing 'em. I just sit here with my old .22 and shoot 'em when they poke their head out!"

Getting rid of mice, that is a good thing. Shooting up the house to get rid of them, that is a bad thing. Then, there are many bad ways to do good things. In fact, the Bible is full of examples from Moses killing an Egyptian to help free his people from slavery to Abraham trying to fulfill God's promise of a son by having a baby through his wife's servant.

There is a particularly haunting story about bad ways to do a good thing in our word for today from the Word of God. It is haunting because it exposes some of the most common mistakes we make in trying to get what we believe to be a good result. Just before Rebekah has her twin boys, Jacob and Esau, God promises her that, contrary to what usually happened in a Jewish family, "the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). Jacob, the second-born, will receive the blessing that she would expect Esau, the firstborn, to get.

Now father Isaac, who gives that blessing, is nearly blind and he appears to be dying. It looks as if Esau is going to get the blessing. In Genesis 26, beginning with verse 14, Rebekah schemes to pass off smooth-skinned Jacob as Esau the hairy outdoors man. The Bible says, "Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau ... and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands ... with the goatskins." She also gave Jacob his father's favorite meal to deliver. When Isaac asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob replied, "I am." And it worked! Jacob got the blessing. That is a good thing - the thing God promised. However, it was done through manipulation and deception.

Here is the sobering question for you and me: do I sometimes manipulate people and situations to help a good thing happen? The first syllable of manipulation tells the whole ugly story - man. I cannot wait for God to do it His way. Human manipulation aborts the perfect processes of God. And it almost always demands some sacrifice of the truth; making things sound or look different than they really are.

Isaac did not die, it turns out, for many more years. Rebekah's scheme ripped her family apart and made one brother ready to kill the other. Her favorite son, Jacob, had to leave for twenty years, during which he was repeatedly deceived and manipulated. And Rebekah never sees her precious son again. There is such a high price when you use a bad way to do a good thing! You may get what you want, but you will lose more than you could ever imagine. Just ask Rebekah.

Christian writer, Warren Wiersbe, has great insight on all this. He says, "Faith is the absence of scheming." Here is the equation you cannot afford to forget: a good thing + a bad way of getting it = a price too high to pay.

Camp info

Okay, Two posts in one day, can you deal with it? I know I can, anywho. Here's the deal, we have camp coming up in a little over 8 weeks. So we need to get busy raising the funds needed to go to camp. Shelia has planned bake sales and car washes to help students raise the money. Here's were you fit in. BE THERE!!! Even if you don't plan on going to camp BE THERE and wash a car or two.
I'll be there as well as my three, to help scrub a tire or two.

Here are the dates:
4/14 Car wash Valvoline 9-4, bake sale
5/5 Car wash Valvoline 9-4
5/19 Car wash Wal-mart Lawrenceburge 9-4
(Dates are subject to change)

So pick a date and bring your best attitude and prepare to remove bug guts so we can go to camp.

"What You Gain From What You Lose."

Where is the springtime weather? One day it is shorts weather and the next not so much. Any way I want to thank all who came to the house Tuesday night for the food and movie, next time we will have a bigger T.V. and more space. If you missed the movie we will show it again in a few weeks.
In the past few weeks, I have been reflecting on where I have been both in my spiritual life as well as in my physical life. On Monday I was at school and had a little down time, so I went to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. While I was sitting there one of my classmates came by and I called out to him, Ted is his name. He and his dog Apollo are on their way to get something to eat. Apollo lives for 2 pm when he is off duty and can eat and take a roll in the grass. You see Apollo has to be the eyes for Ted.
Ted came and sat beside me and we talked about the great weather. Ted asked if I was ready for "America's Favorite Past time"? Ted loves to play baseball and is planning on taking a trip to Ohio to play in a sight impaired softball league. His team came in third out of 25 teams last year. I was curious so I asked Ted how they play softball. Well he explained they call it beep ball. It is a lot like softball, only the bases beep. That helps the player know where the bases are or where the ball is coming from, if you have good ears; which, of course, blind people develop. The sighted people have to play blindfolded, and they just cannot process the beeps as the blind players can. They are used to hearing more than a sound. They hear the direction of the sound. So the sighted people don't stand a chance!
No one would question that you miss a lot if you cannot see. However, you also gain some things that other people do not have like an amazing sense of hearing and the sharpening of your other senses. Just ask those sighted people who keep losing to blind people in beep ball!
God has a wonderful way of adding or deepening some precious qualities through our times of loss and limitation and pain. Some of the most unforgettable people I have ever met have been people who've suffered much more than I have, and they will tell you that it was their struggle that made them strong. You may not like the process; you probably will not. However, you will like the beautiful results that can come from the process, if you choose to let it make you better instead of making you bitter.
There is a wonderful statement of how we gain from what we lose in the Word of God. It sheds light on those suffering times when we're asking that perplexing question, "Why?" 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tell us this: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
If you never go through a hurting time, you'll never experience the special compassion and comfort of Almighty God. If you've never experienced that compassion and comfort, you have little or nothing to give to hurting people around you. If you'll seek God in your suffering, He will pour those caring qualities into you when you're feeling crushed, overwhelmed, in agony. But they're not just to get you through. He fills you up with resources you never had before, resources to make you a well of compassion and comfort for a world of people in pain; resources that can only be developed through hard times ... through hurting times.
What senses does God want to deepen through your pain? Incredible qualities like radar for the deep needs behind people's deeds. A sense of compassion, which literally means the ability to "feel with" someone. God can use your pain to cultivate a wonderful tenderness in your heart and your responses. People who have been through the valley with Jesus emerge with an amazing ability to care, to wait, and to trust God. And there's this sense of quiet confidence and peace in someone who has been kept afloat by the total sufficiency of Christ when there was nothing else to hang onto. They have this "nothing can sink me" poise of a person who is found out when Jesus was all they had that Jesus is all you need. Honestly, having those kinds of hardship-sharpened senses gives you an edge in the game of life. God wants to use what you are going through to give you the emotional equipment to make you a powerful "make a difference" person. This painful process can give you a powerful tool kit from which to be one of God's wounded healers in a hurting world.

03-Apr-07 the gentle reminder

Where has this month gone? If you are in school your like woo, hoo one month down and two more to go. If your like I was about three weeks into the summer break I was ready to get back to school. Now don't get me wrong I was not at all interested in studies, I missed my friends.
Well if you are going to be here for spring break and are missing your friends from school or even the church, we have an answer to that problem. It's called, Snack at the Harper shack. On Tuesday April 3, from 6pm to 9pm, we will be at my home, eating (Heck we are baptist aren't we) and hanging out and watching a movie. So if you are missing your friends and want some free food, then make sure you sign the sheet to reserve your spot.
Have i told you all lately how much I enjoy being here and working with each one of you? Well if I haven't consider yourself told.

Make plans to come or Jonathan and I will be eating a lot of chips and burgers for the next few weeks.

CH

Hebrews 11:6

P.S. If you are looking for the devotional, well I goofed and it is posted as something for March 13, 2007. So you will have to scroll down the page and read it from there.

What is Absolute Truth/other stuff

The other Wednesday night after the teaching session someone asked me the question that is discussed below. Now understand this is not my answer, but it is a good discussion about Absolute Truth. We live in a world today where most people do not believe in absolute truth. I thought the article below would be good for us to read and to talk about on Sunday night April 1, 2007. We will be studying Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir to righteousness that comes by faith."
Noah lived in a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. It became known as a very wicked generation, so wicked that God wiped them off of the face of the earth. It has been said that today is like the days of Noah. How do you live in such a world and still be a Christian? Well join us Sunday night and we will see how Noah "Found Grace in the Eyes of the LORD"

Don't forget to sign up for "Snack at the Harper's Shack" April 3, 2007 meet at the church at 5:30 pm

Also we will not meet in the Youth Area this coming Sunday night (March 25) Come and meet in the Worship Center as we honor Pastor Rick and his years of faithful service here at New Hope Baptist Church.

Now I'll hush up and let you read the article.

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Question: "Is there such a thing as absolute truth / universal truth?"

Answer: In order to understand if there is any such thing as absolute truth / universal truth, let us first begin by defining what truth is. Truth is defined by the dictionary as “conformity to fact or actuality; a statement proven to be or accepted as true; reality or actuality.” Some people today would say that there is no true reality, only perceptions and opinions. On the other hand, others would argue that there must be some absolute reality or truth. Therefore, when considering the question as to if there is such a thing as absolute truth, we see two diametrically opposed views.
One view says that there are not absolutes that define reality. Those that hold this view believe that everything is relative, and thus there is no actual reality. Because of that, there is ultimately no authority for deciding if an action is positive or negative, right or wrong. This view is simply “situational ethics” in its highest form. There is no right or wrong and therefore whatever feels right at that time is right. Of course this type of “situational ethics” leads to a “whatever feels good” mentality and lifestyle, which has a devastating effect on society and individuals.
The other view believes that there are indeed absolute realities or standards that define what is true and what is not. Therefore, actions can be determined to be either right or wrong by how they measure up to those absolute standards. Can you imagine the chaos there would be if there were no absolutes, no reality. Take the law of gravity for instance. If it was not an absolute, one time you might go to take a step and end up miles in the sky, and the next time you would not be able to move your body at all. Or think about the confusion what would happen if numbers no longer had absolute values. For instance 2 + 2 would no longer always equal four. If there were no absolute truths, the world would be in chaos. There would be no laws of science, no laws of physics, everything would be without meaning and there would be no standards of measurement and no right or wrong. What a mess that would be, but thankfully there is absolute truth and it can be found and understood.
The very thought of someone making a statement that there is no absolute truth is totally illogical. Yet today, many people are embracing a cultural relativism that at its heart denies any type of absolute truth. A good question to as people who say “there is no absolute truth” is: “Are you absolutely sure of that?” It is totally illogical to make such a statement, since it is an absolute statement that in itself denies absolutes. It is, in essence, saying that the very fact there is no absolute truth is the one and only absolute truth.
There are several logical problems one must overcome to accept or believe that there are no absolute truths / universal truths. The first problem is that of self contradiction. This is seen in the question posed above and the fact that those who insist that there are no absolutes are in fact themselves believing in an absolute. They are absolutely sure that there is nothing absolute. This type of philosophy is both self-defeating and self-contradictory. The statement that there are no absolutes is in itself contradicting what they say they believe!
The second problem with the denial of absolute truth / universal truth is the fact that all humans have limited knowledge. As human beings with a limited and finite mind, we cannot logically make absolute negative statements. For example a person cannot logically say “There is no God” (even though many do so), because in order to say that they would need to have absolute knowledge of the entire universe from beginning to end. When people say there is no God or there is no absolute truth (which really in essence are the same thing), the most they can rationally and logically say is “With the limited knowledge I have, I don’t believe that there is a God,” or “With the limited knowledge that I have, I don’t believe there is any thing that is absolutely true.”
The third problem with the denial of absolute truth / universal truth is the fact that it fails to live up to what we know to be true in our own consciences, our own experiences, and what we see in the “real world.” If there is no such thing as absolute truth, then there is nothing ultimately right or wrong about anything. What might be “right for you” does not mean it is “right for me.” While on the surface this type of relativism seems to be very appealing, if it is taken to its logical conclusion it soon proves to be disastrous. Just consider for a moment if there really was no absolute truth and that everything really is relative (no standards of any kind). In essence what happens is everybody sets their own rules to live by and does what they think is right. This causes problems as one person’s sense of right will soon clash with another’s. For example, what if it is "right for me" to ignore traffic lights, even when they are red? In this way I put the life of others at risk. Or, I might think it is right to steal from you and you might think it is not right. In the same way one person might decide that killing people is OK and therefore they attempt to kill everyone in sight.
If there are no absolute standards, no absolute truth and all things are relative, then killing everybody is just as right as not killing everybody. Stealing is just as right as not stealing. Cruelty is equal to non-cruelty. What disastrous results the denial of absolute truths can so easily lead to. Because if there is no such thing as absolute truth, then no one can really “You should do that,” or “You shouldn't do that.” If there is no absolute truth then even government itself cannot or should not impose rules on society. Can you see the problem this causes? Total chaos as each person does what is right in their own sight. If there is no absolute truth, no standard of right and wrong that we are all accountable to then we can never be sure of anything. People would be free to do whatever they want—murder, rape, stealing, lying, cheating, etc. and no one could say those things would be wrong. There could be no government, no laws, and no justice, because one could not even say that the majority of the people have the right to make and enforce standards upon the minority. A world without absolutes would be the most horrible world imaginable.
Today we often hear phrases like "that may be true for you, but it’s not true for me." To those that hold that there is no absolute truth, truth is seen as nothing more than a personal preference or a perception, and therefore cannot extend beyond a person’s boundaries. Because of this there are no final answers to the meaning of life and there could be no hope for any type of afterlife. This type of relativism results in religious confusion, because there can be no one true religion, no one way of having a right relationship with God. All religions would therefore be false because they all make claims to teach or believe in some type of after life, some type of absolute truth. This is why it is not uncommon today for people to believe that two diametrically opposed religions could both be equally “true” even though they both claim to have the only way to heaven or teach two totally opposite “truths.” People that do not believe in absolute truth ignore these claims and embrace a more tolerant universalism that teaches that all religions are equal and all of them will lead to heaven. This is also why people who embrace this worldview will vehemently oppose evangelical Christians who believe the Bible when it says that Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life” and that He is the ultimate manifestation of truth and the only way one can get to heaven (John 14:6).
And yet despite the fact that denying absolute truth is both illogical and irrational, the view that “all is relative” has become one of the slogans for the generation we live in. In much of the Western World, multitudes have rejected the possibility that such a thing as absolute truth could or does exist. This has resulted in what many refer to as a post-modern society, which is a society that regards all values, beliefs, lifestyles, and truth claims as equally valid. Because of this, those that hold to absolute standards of right or wrong are considered intolerant and are routinely condemned, mocked, and criticized.
In fact tolerance has become the one cardinal virtue of society, the one absolute, and therefore there can only be one evil, that of intolerance. In other words what has happened is that any religious system or individual that believes dogmatically in anything—especially in absolute truth—becomes guilty of intolerance, and the only thing a politically correct, relative society will not accept are those that believe in absolutes. Those that deny absolute truth will often say that it is alright to believe what you want, as long as you don’t try to impose your beliefs on others. But this view itself is a belief about what is right and wrong and those that hold this view most definitely do try to impose it on others and are therefore hypocritical. They set up a standard of behavior which they then insist that others follow—thereby violating the very thing they pretend to uphold.
The question that begs to be asked is why are those that promote tolerance so intolerant of people who believe in absolute truth? And why are people so willing to embrace a belief system that threatens to destroy the very fabric of society and is at its very heart both irrational and illogical? The simple reason is that people do not want to be accountable for their actions. If there is absolute truth then there are absolute standards of right and wrong, and we are then accountable to those standards. This accountability is what people are really trying to deny in their rejection of absolute truth.
The denial of absolute truth / universal truth and the cultural relativism that comes from it are simply the logical result of a society that has embraced the theory of evolution as the explanation for life. If evolution is true, then life has no meaning, we have no purpose, and there cannot be any absolute right or wrong. Man is then free to live life as he pleases and is accountable to no one for his actions. And yet no matter how much sinful men wants to deny the existence of God and of His absolute truth they still will someday stand before Him in judgment. The Bible declares, “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:18-22).
The final question we should ask when considering whether absolute truth really exists or not, is if there is there any evidence for the existence of absolute truth? If one carefully considers this question it quickly become evident that there is indeed evidence that points to the existence of absolute truth. The first evidence for the existence of absolute truth is seen in our conscience. Our conscience tells us that the world should be a “certain way,” that some things are “right” and some are “wrong.” It helps us to understand that there is something wrong with suffering, starvation, rape, pain, and evil. It makes us aware that love, generosity, compassion, and peace are positive things for which we should strive. The Bible describes the role of the human conscience in Romans 2:14-16, “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”
The second evidence for the existence of absolute truth is seen in science. Science is simply the pursuit of knowledge. It is the study of what we know and the quest to know more. Therefore, all scientific study must by necessity be founded upon the belief that there are objective realities that exist in the world. Without absolutes, what would there be to scientifically study? How could one know that the findings they made were real? In fact the very laws of science have to be founded on the certainty of absolute truth.
The third evidence for the existence of absolute truth / universal truth is the existence of religion. All the religions of the world are an attempt to give meaning and definition to life. They are born out of the fact that mankind desires something more than simply existing. Behind all religions is a fundamental belief that there must be more to life than simply this physical existence that we now know. Through religion, people are looking for assurance and hope for the future, for forgiveness of sins, for peace in the midst of our struggles, and for answers to our deepest questions. Religion is really evidence that mankind is more than simply a highly evolved animal. It is evidence of a higher purpose, and the fact that there is indeed a personal and purposeful Creator, who implanted into man the desire to know Him. And if there is indeed a Creator, then He becomes the standard for absolute truth, and it is His authority that establishes that truth.
Fortunately for us there is such a Creator and He has revealed not only Himself but also His truth to us through His very Word, the Bible. If we want to know the absolute truth / universal truth the only way to do that is through a personal relationship with the One who claimed to be the “Truth” Jesus Christ. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6). The fact that absolute truth does exist points us to the truth that there is a sovereign God who created the heavens and the earth and who has revealed Himself to us, in order that we might know Him personally through His son Jesus Christ.

SNACK

On Tuesday April 3, 2007 there will be an event I like to call "Snack at the Harper Shack."
It will be a time for the students to hang out, fellowship, eat, play games and watch the movie, "End of the Spear." If you have not seen this movie, it will open your eyes to the meaning of missions and sacrifice. Jim Elliott one of the missionaries, wrote in his journal, on April 28, 1949
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
I hope that you can attend this event. We will use the church van and carpool, leaving the church at 5:30 pm and go to my home in Lexington, and return at 9:30 pm. Please pray for this event and for the Lord to give us good weather. If it should rain or even snow (Did I say that out loud) we will try again on Thursday April 5th. If you need more information call the church office or send me an email.
The meat will be provided, Please see the sign up sheet in the youth center for all the other food items needed.

Feed your soul,

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10
Every person who names the name of Jesus Christ has a threefold call on his life.
God calls us to know His Son Jesus Christ personally through faith. Responding to this call changes everything—your life, your purpose, your eternal destiny—but it’s not the whole story. Some folks think, “I’m saved now—next stop, heaven,” but God’s call doesn’t stop at conversion. Really, it’s just the beginning.
God also calls you to follow Him. Jesus extends the same invitation to you and me that He did to the disciples on the shore of Galilee: “Come follow Me.” This call to discipleship makes a place for you to walk and talk with the Lord every day; it’s an invitation to know and be known by the Lover of your soul.
But again, the call extends even beyond this to the call to serve Christ. Contrary to many people’s priority lists, working for God is not in the options column. Why? Because God needs you to get His church built? No, He could do it with His feet up. He calls you and me off the bench and into the game because He wants to bless us. Just ask any faithful, fruitful follower of Christ, and they’ll tell you all about the joy of rolling up your sleeves and pouring yourself into the place He’s got for you to serve.
Ephesians 2:8-10 sums up our threefold calling like this: “By grace you have been saved through faith [the call to conversion]. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works [the call to service], which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them [the call to discipleship].”
Where do you stand in relation to God’s call on your life? Are you experiencing the blessing of obedience? If you obey the call to know Christ, you know the gift of eternal life. If you obey the call to follow Christ, you know fellowship with the Lord that brings increasing faith and joy. If you obey the call to serve Christ, you’re experiencing the rush of investing your life in something greater than your life. It takes obedience in all three aspects to experience the abundant life Christ promises.
If you wonder where your joy is these days, ask yourself how you’re doing in these areas. Then step up and go after the things that God calls you to. You’re gonna get blessed for sure.

Victim or Overcomer?

CNN doesn't usually do news stories about high school football players, but there's something very special about the South Carolina player they described this way: "Sometimes the biggest heart on the field can fit into the smallest player." His name is Kos. He's a Siberian orphan, adopted by an American family, and he has no legs. He lost them the day he and his friend decided to hop aboard a freight train. For some reason, his friend pushed Kos and he landed under the wheels of that train. Now he's playing nose tackle on one of his high school's football teams. As hard as that may be to imagine, Kos had several solo tackles this past season; he recovered two fumbles; he was such a threat that other teams had to assign two players to defend against him. He just swings right into the fray and knocks them down with his strong arms and his head. His heart on the field and his infectious personality have affected more than one school. The football coach at Clemson University brought Kos in to demonstrate his skill to that college team. The coach said, "If my players would max out on what they can give like this young man has, we'd win a lot of games." By the way, Kos' goal is to get a good job and make enough money to build a big house with several bedrooms, so he can provide a home for as many disabled Russian orphans as possible. Kos could of chosen to look at his situation as that of a victim but instead he took what was given to him and he became an overcomer.

Victim: That's what a lot of people in our world feel like. And many of them have been victims of neglect, abuse, gossip, a broken family, tragedy, or rejection. The wounds are real. But that young football player is living proof that your wounds don't have to define who you are. They don't have to decide how you handle your life. If you're living your life as a victim, it's ultimately not the fault of the people who hurt you. You have made the choice to let those who've hurt you and the wounds they gave you define your life. That overcoming football player has the resume of a victim: no parents, no legs, abandonment, and disability. But he's made another choice. He said in his interview that he sees how God has worked in his life. He sounds like the great Apostle Paul, who had been through more hurt and abuse than most of us could imagine: whippings, prison, injustice, slander, hit squads determined to kill him, shipwreck, an incurable and painful physical condition. But listen to what he says in Romans 8 beginning with verse 31, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us?...Can anything ever separate us from God's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger?...No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." Paul, and a Russian orphan who's chosen to live as an overcomer instead of a victim, show us the secret of rising above our hurt and our limitations.
First, choose to be defined by your love relationship with Jesus Christ, which is disease-proof, terror-proof, disaster-proof and death-proof.
Secondly, focus on what you can do, not what you can't do.
Thirdly, dedicate yourself to use what you have and what you've been through to help other hurting people.
You decide what you're going to let define you: your pain or your possibilities, your environment or your attitude, your past or your future, your wounds or His wounds when He died for you. You can be, as one version says, "more than conqueror through Him who loved you" (Romans 8:37 - NIV). Then, instead of sitting on life's sidelines, nursing your wounds and making excuses, you can get in the game and play to win!

Honored To Be Here Serving

We are excited to be here serving the Students and families of NHBC. I hope you will come back and check out the upcoming events and view the pictures. This will be one place you and your students can get the latest information about up coming events and any changes that have been made.

Right now I am fighting my way through the office paperwork and asking Patti a million questions about each one of the students.

I am giving my own personal touch to the office space (Adding a little Mountaineer color to the walls) and finding out that someone left their science project in my desk. (Or is that an old candy bar?!?!?)

In the few weeks we will have more information about upcoming events and stuff like that, so make sure you check back here each week.

Again we are exited to be here serving with you and we are praying for the students as we try to impact their world.