My Musings

He Did Eat Continually At The King's Table

2008-07-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

"Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake..."
~ II Samuel 9:6-7

As I read through II Samuel 9 today, I was amazed again to read about David's relationship with this man named Mephibosheth. This man was the grandson of David's enemy Saul. In fact, it was common practice among rulers of those days to kill, capture, or torture anyone who was related to the vanquished king. It was probably expected of David to find out Mephibosheth and to eliminate him. With that in mind, I can only imagine the terror in Mephibosheth's mind as he stood before David for the first time.

Yet David had something else in store for his supposed enemy. You see, David had made a promise to his best friend, Jonathan, that he would watch over his children. Mephibosheth just happened to be Jonathan's son. And although years had passed since that promise, David was still true to his word. And although Mephibosheth would have been considered as the enemy of King David, David now shewed him mercy and grace.

"So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table..."
~ II Samuel 9:13

So it was that Christ sought us out while we were the enemies of God. In our sinful, hell-bound state he reached down and shed his mercy on us. He brought us into the banqueting table of his fellowship and love. He allowed us to feast at his table. Wow!

Missing In Action

2008-07-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

I just want to apologize for not blogging much over the past three and a half weeks. I have been working on some major web-design projects for some churches, I have just moved to a new apartment in Arlington, Va, and I have been working on a major update of the website that will make the administrative tasks much easier. As the site continues to grow it becomes more and more difficult to administrate changes and additions. The updates that I am working on should aid in allowing me to control the thousands of pages on here much easier. In the meantime, it is going to require me to migrate all of the content into the new system that I will be using.

Anyways, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for not working on the blog so much lately. Once everything gets done, I will be able to blog very regularly. Thanks everyone.

The Friday Funnies - Man Rules

2008-06-20T00:01:00.002-04:00

Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one

1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation,or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

A Modern American Hero: A Testimony from the Frontlines of Iraq

2008-06-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Ray Zindell, a Major in the United States Army, is a very close friend of mine. In October of 2007, he returned from a combat tour in Iraq. While there he worked as an avid soul-winner working to care for the soldiers around him and to reach them with the gospel of Christ. He has agreed to share his testimony on this website in an effort to encourage others with the amazing testimony of what God has done in his life while serving our nation overseas. Please leave your comments and feedback to let this American patriot know how you feel about his service and about his testimony.

Here is the question that I asked him that sparked the following testimony, “What is your most memorable experience or series of experiences while you were in Iraq?"

I remember one great moment in my life while I was in Iraq. It is a moment that has changed me completely, and changed my relationship with Christ even more. It involved the death of a United States Army Soldier that I knew through our Bible study in Iraq and it involved the heart of a Christian service member who cared enough to reach out to another Soldier when it was needed most.

I came to know Captain “John,” a friend of mine serving in the United States Air Force. While in Iraq. John had been introduced to me through Lieutenant Commander (P) Mike Chettham and participated in our soul winning ministry in Baghdad (run by Mike Cheetham and I). John became introduced to the blessings of soul winning for the first time through the class. As a result, God put a fire under John and he started experiencing the blessing God had in store for him through sharing the gospel. He would come back every week and tell us all the situations and continued to ask for more advice on approaching people for Christ. It was exciting to see what God had done in His life and the Life of those around Him because of the soul winning class. John soon became a great soul winner.

One of John’s soul winning efforts involved a Soldier with whom John worked with in Baghdad. During their down time together, John would talk to him about his salvation. They would talk about knowing if he was on his way to heaven. Every time John would ask that pointed question, this Soldier replied with, "Hey, I am fine!" or "It’s okay. You believe what you want to believe and I’ll believe what I want to believe."

But after church one Sunday evening he and John were having a cup of coffee. The subject came up again and the Soldier wanted to know how he could be 100% for sure that he was on his way to heaven. He said, "John, you know you can keep talking about this. Why don’t you tell me what you mean by this?" So John had the opportunity to lead him to the Lord, and the Soldier asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior right there in Baghdad, Iraq. Afterward, the Soldier was so excited. He picked up the phone and he called his wife back in the United States to let her know what happened, and to let her know the great news.

John came back and was just pumped up with the news that Monday evening. I can remember him emailing me and saying, "This is great, just great and wonderful." We rejoiced in what God was doing in Iraq that evening. It was really a great thing that God allowed us to be a part of that all.

Then, Tuesday came. We were getting mortared and rocketed pretty bad that week. More than usual. That Tuesday was particularly heavy as I can recall. The young Soldier that Captain John had led to the Lord that Sunday evening was walking outside the U.S. Embassy building when a number of explosive rockets made their way into the Compound. It was at that moment when the young Soldier went off into eternity from the rocket exploding just feet from the Embassy building itself. Some personnel on the scene tried to help him. One of the soldiers that was there tried to care for his wounds and get him stabilized so they could get him to the hospital. But it was too late.

It was Tuesday night in the middle of our Bible study when we found out that the had been taken home. There were tears of sorrow and pain. John especially was shattered to get the news. But we could proclaim this one thing in that Bible Study that night “It was that he was on his way to heaven.”

Then, John shared the young Soldier’s testimony to the class and in that little white building chapel that night we praised God for his salvation. John's reliance upon God's grace enabled Him to experience the joy of soul winning in the most powerful way, which to him is a huge blessing even today. It was all because a faithful Christian who had a heart for souls that wanted to reach out to the lost for God.

Just to be a part of that...even an indirect part of that, was amazing. But that is not where the story ends.

We went through the memorial service that Wednesday. On Thursday, the young man’s wife called the Chaplain there at the U.S. Embassy. The Chaplain exchanged some words with her and said that it was a good memorial service. The deceased Soldier’s wife said, “I’d like to talk to the man who talked to my husband that Sunday before he died.” So the Chaplain gave her Captain John’s phone number.

John talked to her for quite some time. Before he got off the phone with her he said, "Ma'am, I want to ask you a question and I don’t want to insult you. Are you 100% for sure that you are on your way to heaven or do you have some doubt?"

Now mind you three months ago, Captain John would not have had the courage to say all this. The young lady said, "No. That’s why I called. I want to know the same thing that you told my husband. I want to be able to share in the same joy that my husband shared with me!"

So, Captain John over the phone and across the ocean shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with this young lady, and she, like her husband just days before, received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Now that it is a memory that I will hold closest to my heart. Had I not taken that step forward...Had I not thrown myself at the service for God and my country then I would not have had the opportunity to share the experience of soul winning with Captain John or meet great men like him or LCDR Mike Cheetham and all the rest.

I glory in that. Just to be a part of that was worth the price of admission. That God would share such joy as that in our lives makes me keep serving Him and my country. It is worth the cost.

Major Ray Zindell

*This is the expressed opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.

The Friday Funnies

2008-06-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

Each Friday I am going to be selecting some of the funniest content that is submitted to the humor section of the Forums at The Baptist Muse to feature here at the Blog. This week's features were submitted by our forum member who goes by the name of Jude. Well, come on, let's get started!

Redneck Technology!

LOG ON: Makin a wood stove hotter.
LOG OFF: Don't add no more wood.
MONITOR: Keepin an eye on the wood stove.
DOWNLOAD: Gettin the farwood off the truk.
MEGA HERTZ: When yer not kerful gettin the farwood.
FLOPPY DISC: Whatcha git from tryin to carry too much farwood.
RAM: That thar thing whut splits the farwood.
HARD DRIVE: Gettin home in the winter time.
PROMPT: Whut the mail ain't in the winter time.
WINDOWS: Whut to shut wen it's cold outside.
SCREEN: Whut to shut wen it's blak fly season.
BYTE: Whut them flys do.
CHIP: Munchies fer the TV.
MICRO CHIP: Whut's in the bottom of the munchie bag.
MODEM: Whut cha did to the hay fields.
DOT MATRIX: Old Dan Matrix's wife.
LAP TOP: Whar the kitty sleeps.
KEYBOARD: Whar ya hang the keys.
SOFTWARE: Them plastic forks and knifs.
MOUSE: Whut eats the grain in the barn.
MAINFRAME: Holds up the barn roof.
PORT: Fancy Flatlander wine
ENTER: Northerner talk fer "C'mon in y'all"
RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY: Wen ya cain't 'member whut ya paid fer the rifle when yore wife asks.
MOUSE PAD: That hippie talk fer the rat hole.

How To Tell Your Pigs Apart

Two Irishmen bought two pigs, but then worried about how they could tell whose was whose. Paddy suggested he cut one ear off his pig. The other Paddy thought that was a good idea. This worked fine until a few weeks later when Paddy stormed into Paddy's house. "Paddy, your pig has chewed the ear off my pig! Now we got two pigs with one ear each. Now how we gonna tell whose pig is whose?" "Well, Paddy," said Paddy, "I'll cut ta other ear off my pig. Ten we'll 'ave two pigs and only one of them will 'ave an ear." The other Paddy agreed. This worked fine until a few weeks later when Paddy stormed into Paddy's house. "Paddy, your pig has chewed the other ear offa my pig! Now, we got two pigs with no ears! Now how we gonna tell whose pig is whose?" "Ah, dis is serious, Paddy," said Paddy and he thought a moment. "How about if I'll cut de tail offa my pig and den we'll 'ave two pigs with no ears and only one tail." Paddy agreed. A few weeks later, Paddy stormed into Paddy's house again. "Paddy, your pig has chewed the tail offa my pig and now we got two pigs with no ears and no tails! Now how we gonna tell 'em apart?!" "Ah, forget it," said Paddy. "Why don't you have the black one and I'll have the white one?!"

In Christ,

Nicholas Z. Cardot

Selfless Pursuit of the Will of God

2008-06-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

Imagine yourself standing at the end of a large rope with in a group of several other men and women. At the opposite end of the rope stands another group of people who are prepared to pull against you when the buzzer sounds. Your goal is to pull so hard that you drag the rope and the other team until you are able to reach out and grab the prize that has been set at the edge of the arena.

Suddenly the starting bell rings and you are off. At first you pull half-heartedly, but quickly you realize that this is no small task. That other team is determined to drag you over to their side and claim the prize for themselves. You won’t have any of it. You pull harder. You push your feet into the ground. You grip the rope so tightly that your knuckles turn white. Your brow becomes covered in sweat and your shirt becomes all messed up. You can tuck it back in in a few minutes. Right now you are busy. You are determined to claim that prize for your team.

You begin to make a little headway. You and your team drag them about a foot in your direction…then two feet…then five. Finally, your teammate at the end of the rope reaches out and grasps the prize. You have pulled far enough to claim the reward. You release the rope and together with the others you begin to cheer and applaud one another. You did it.
Isn’t it funny that in a game as silly as tug-of-war you are willing to commit every last ounce of strength so that one of your teammates is able to claim the prize. All sense of selfishness disappears and the only thing that matters is that the team wins regardless of who gets to grasp the prize at the end.

What an amazing Biblical truth that each of us could bear to learn: To put aside all self pride and endeavor with all of our strength to reach for the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus!

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
~ Philippians 3:14

So often I fear Christians are pushing forward in the work of Christ solely for the purpose of looking nice in the eyes of those around them. While I am glad that they are at least doing the work of God, it is sad that they are doing it for sinful reasons. It is sinful to motivate ourselves in the work of God through the wickedness of pride.

Yet how often do we see this happening? Preachers are more concerned with announcing greater numbers than in seeing individual lives being transformed into the image of Christ. Bus workers are often more concerned about winning the spring campaign than they are concerned with the eternal souls of those on their buses. Soul-winners are short changing the gospel and leading men and woman through false professions so that they can simply get another ‘notch on their belt.’

We need a revitalized sense of serving Christ that is motivated by a love for God and souls. We need to get over the pride that drives us to seek our own glory. We need to throw our self-image out the window and give every ounce of our strength to seeing the Will of God accomplished in our lives and in our churches. Let’s press toward that prize!

In Christ,

Nicholas Z. Cardot

In the Arms of Sweet Deliverance

2008-06-11T00:01:00.004-04:00

In the Arms of Sweet deliverance, gonna’ lay my heavy burdens down And with my Lord I’ll abide When at last my travelin’ days are done, In the land somewhere beyond the sun, In the arms of sweet deliverance, In the arms of sweet deliverance I shall rest by and by …

This is one of my favorite songs. This song is all about taking your burdens to the Lord instead of bearing them yourself. It is so easy in our life to just make it through the day by the things of the world. This is not what God wants from us. He wants us to have a daily walk with him. He wants to bear of our burdens. He wants us to talk to him. He wants us to wait on him and to trust Him to take care of us.

Of troubles I’ve had much more than enough; Many the days my path is rough; Many the days I wonder what to do. But then I talk to my God in prayer and he assures me that he’s right there and whatsoever may come he’ll see me thro’

I’ve read in the book how the Lord once said, “The rain will fall on the good and the bad, But wise is the man who waits upon the Lord.” When trials and sorrows multiply I will not ask him the reason why, For strength is mine only heaven can afford.

There have been times in my life when I was going through a trial and the last thing that I did was go to God in prayer when it should have been the first thing that I did. There have been other times when I went to God as soon as the trial started and it ended quicker and with a better result than when I went to the Lord after trying to get through it on my own.

Last year while Nick was away at basic training, I was unable to sleep most nights. I remember the first week that he was gone I didn’t sleep more than an hour a night and I was still working 8-10 hours a day. That made for some very long days at work. I tried to find ways to fix the issue on my own instead of turning to the Lord. When I finally took it to him in prayer I started sleeping most of the night. It was still lonely at night but there was a peace that the Lord was looking out and taking care of me. This is what the Lord wants to do on a daily basis is to take care of us.

When the trials come who are you turning to? Are you turning to the Lord? Are you relying on yourself and the things of the world to get you through?

I have a desire to be a mother and to raise my children to serve the Lord. It is so easy to get discouraged as the months go by and realize that I am not going to be a mother in the next few months. Many times I have to stop and look at my prayer life in this area. I have to see if I took this burden to the Lord and prayed consistently about it. We are so quick to want to point fingers and say that it is someone else’s fault, but how often does the fault lie with us because we didn’t take it to the Lord and rely on him to answer?

"...Yet ye have not, because ye ask not." James 4:2

The Lord is waiting with his arms of deliverance to shelter us and to carry us through the trials of life. There is nothing to great or too small for the Lord to handle. He is always there waiting for us to come to him in prayer so that he can carry you through the battle. What’s it going to be? Are you going to try it yourself and drag the trial out further? Or are you going to go the Lord in prayer and allow him to carry you through?

Serving the Master,
Diane Cardot

The Peace of a Real Salvation

2008-06-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

I was raised in a Christian home. My father has been a pastor since I was five years old. At that time I had seen a lot of people get saved and all I knew about it was that
everyone ought to get saved, people getting saved made my mom and dad real happy, and when people got saved they went to the front of the auditorium, prayed, and then they were saved!

I thought, "Hey! I can do that!" So I did. I went forward, prayed the prayer everyone prayed when they got saved, and then excitedly told my parents that "I got saved!" My mom and dad gave me a funny look and said, "oh, that's nice." and dropped it. That was very wise of them. They never told me, "Now you're saved!"

Years later, we went to a showing at a church nearby of some movies about the end times. The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming back, and that He will come like a thief. This knowledge convicted me because I knew that if I did not prepare for His coming, I would be left alone. This thought really gripped my imagination. I couldn't sleep. I knew some new things now.

If I had to face God right then, He wouldn't let me into Heaven. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone..." Rev. 21:8

When He came to get the saved, He wouldn't get me. "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Matt. 24:40

This is not a pleasant prospect, but the Bible is very clear on this matter. Sin ends up in a place of judgment, and we are in our sins without Christ.

I had a problem, though. So much of the Bible is about God's wonderful provision for this need we all have, and I FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT! I spent night after night dreading the morning in case I was going to wake up to an empty house. I would check the beds every night, sometimes several times.

Then after one night of desperate bed-checking, I lay in my bed pondering my misery and the Lord began to speak to my heart. The still small voice of God's Spirit asked me if I thought God wanted me to spend my life in this kind of despair. I knew that He didn't. Then it hit me like a load of bricks. "What! That's what Jesus came for!" Right then, I knew I had to get saved right away, and I knew the best thing of all:

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. " II Pet. 3:9

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Rom. 6:23

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." II Cor. 5:21

John 3:16 says it better than I ever could, "For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I jumped out of bed and ran to my parents bedroom. They did not greet me enthusiastically this time either! In fact they were downright groggy and confused. I was not. I knew that I had to get saved before another moment passed. So I prayed and asked God to save me from my sins and from hell. I accepted His wonderful gift of eternal life. The relief and peace was amazing. The first thing I thought was, "Finally! I can sleep!" How wonderful to be able to rest in peace in this life! "I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, oh Lord, only makest me dwell in safety."

Reader, God loves you so much that gave His own blood to pay for your salvation. If you are trying to get it by being a good person, please remember, it's a gift! Your sins will keep you from ever being good enough to have peace with God. You have to get rid of them! Jesus is how. When He died on the cross, His blood paid the price to remove all our sin.

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgivness of sin." Col. 1:14

God says that if you turn from those sins and believe on Christ, you will be saved.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Rom. 10:13

Sarah Joy
Sarah Joy's Corner

Broken to Beautiful

2008-06-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

When I was really little,
About the age of three or four,
I would get really scared,
When I'd hear a slamming door.
Mom and Dad would yell a lot,
Us kids never understood,
We knew that there were problems,
And we'd have fixed them if we could.

They never got along you see,
It's God's love that they did lack,
So when they did split up,
Dad said I won't be back.

My mom worked with a Christian,
Who asked her to come to church,
My mom said I'll try it,
Since nothing else has worked.

When my mom went that day,
And she fully realized,
That she was a rotten sinner,
She let that old man die.

Now that she was saved,
She began to really pray,
That God would bring her husband home,
For good and there to stay.

One day when my Daddy called,
About a few weeks later,
He said that he was on his way,
To file a divorcement paper.

Mom then went into her room,
To pray to God in Heaven,
About what Daddy said,
And about the situation.

The next thing that we knew,
Dad was walking through the door,
He said that he was home,
They needed to talk some more.

He said I don't love you,
I'm just here for the kids,
We'll put a month on trial,
We'll try this out again.

She'd pray to God every day,
That He would let this work,
Please God save my husband,
And let him get in church.

After weeks of asking,
Daddy finally agreed,
He said that he would go,
So his wife would no more plead.

Daddy had gone in the garage,
To get alone and think,
He'd knew he'd been convicted,
His soul was tired and weak.

So there that day my dad got saved,
His life forever changed,
Then he told his wife,
My life is rearranged.

It's been thirteen years since all this happened,
All of us kids are saved,
My parents are still married,
And dad preaches the Word today.

So next time you say it's impossible,
I've got a different story,
God put our family back together,
I give Him the praise and glory.

Trusting God,
Kristina

Lovers of Their Own Selves

2008-06-08T00:01:00.003-04:00

In 2 Timothy 3, God gave Paul a list to characterize “the last days”, or as it is also referred to, “perilous times”. The first trait written was that people would be lovers of their own selves: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves…” (vs. 2). People in the last days would be known as being fond of self, or having self-love, i.e. selfish.

Now we can clearly see that this selfishness, this self-love, is normal in the human heart. In fact, it shows itself in a person as soon as that person is able to express himself! For example, no one has to teach a cute, cuddly, little baby how to throw a temper tantrum to get his own way. That selfishness comes naturally.

So what does a people, a society, a nation do to curb this selfishness in the individual? Well, a healthy society will impose restraints on this self-love. It will recognize the need to teach children respect for authority, such as with their parents at home, their teachers at school, their preachers at church, and with the law of the land. If a nation will be healthy and vibrant, it must teach children to be well-mannered and respectful of persons and the property of others.

But what is our nation doing about this? Is our society winning the battle to instill a respect for others, or is it losing ground by institutionalizing the love for self? We may be able to answer this by asking ourselves the following:

Are parents being encouraged to train and discipline their children, or are they discouraged from it lest the children become “inhibited”?

If a child is failing the courses at school, is he being held back, or is the grading system being adjusted lest their flunking do them “psychological harm”?

When someone commits a terrible crime, are his rights being taken away, or do criminals still have rights, even though they’ve shown no respect for the rights of those they’ve robbed, maimed, or murdered?

Do we have a generation addicted to drugs [and alcohol – a drug!], given over to self-indulgence, and without regard for social values?

Does today’s “music” of the world reflect and reinforce a love of self?

Do the “worship services” of many churches reflect and reinforce a love of self?

Selfishness [self-love] has become institutionalized in our society. Selflessness is not a hallmark in our country, although it still can be seen, but selfishness is prevalent and easy to see.

I know that evil has always plagued societies, but it would seem like Bible Christianity had acted as a restraint in our society. However today, it sadly seems like Christian standards of morality and decency are being pushed aside, and perversion is flaunting itself proudly in many communities, colleges, communication mediums, and in our nation’s Courts.

Are we in the last days? I believe we are. But does this mean we should just sell everything and go hide away on some mountain or in a cave? Of course not. What do we do? Well I’m glad you asked!

Let’s be men and women of character – CHRISTIAN CHARACTER! Let’s train our children in the way they should go. Let’s obey the commands of the Lord that are intended to restrain our self-love and keep us from the practice of sin; and let’s see that same obedience developed in our children, our next generation. The Lord Jesus said, “If ye love ME [not self], keep MY commandments”. Let’s put into practice selfLESSness by having J.O.Y. = Jesus, Others, then You!

Yes, perilous times are upon us, but know this: The darker the night, the brighter the light! We and our children can live a life that’s selfless and that honors the Saviour!

Pastor Mike Szekely

The Pastor's Pen

Updating the Style at the Baptist Muse

2008-06-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Many of you have probably noticed that I haven't been on the forum or commenting on the blog much this week. I am working on massively overhauling the style and file systems here at The Baptist Muse. The organization of this site is completing chaotic due to the fact that I really didn't know what I was doing when I got started. I am know trying to remedy that by revamping the theme and moving some files around. Starting tomorrow or Thursday, you will probably see some strange things here. By Saturday, I should have the updates complete and then be able to jump back into the swing of things. Thank you for all of your support!

A Turn for the Miraculous

2008-06-03T00:01:00.002-04:00

I did not grow up in a Christian home. My family never even attended a church service all my years of growing up. I think I went to one wedding that was held in a church but I'm not even sure about that. When I was a little girl I was riding down the road with my dad and I remember looking out the window and asking my dad if there was a God. He told me he thought there was but that was all he told me. It wasn't util I moved to Georgia that I even heard the name of Jesus. I'm not sure if you have ever met or heard of anyone that had gone 24 years of their life without hearing the name of Jesus...but you have heard of someone now.

I had given birth to my third child and a friend of mine's pastor made a visit to our apartment one day to talk to me. All he told me was that Jesus died for me and that He was how I would get to Heaven. After talking with me for a few minutes he asked me if I wanted to go to Heaven. Well....what person doesn't want to? So he told me to repeat a prayer after him (which I did) and after doing so he pronounced me as going to Heaven. I lived for four years thinking I was going to Heaven. We went to church SOMETIMES. But only when we felt like it. There was no desire to go nor was there any change that took place in my life.

In June of 1994 my world was falling apart. I took my son to one of his baseball games with my girls and had asked my husband if he wanted to go. He said he didn't because he was tired and needed some sleep. After getting to the baseball game I felt this prompting to go back home for something. I don't remember now what that "thing" was that I was to go home for but I knew once I got there why I needed to go. I walked into our bedroom to find my husband and his things gone and a note on our bed. He had left me and the kids and said he would contact me later. That was it!

No explanation or anything. I was devastated!

I worked at a bowling center in the snack bar and there was a lady that worked in the office that was a Christian. She was always witnessing to the employees there about the Lord. She would take every opportunity to talk to me about the Lord. Now remember, I thought I was already saved. I didn't know anything else but that. So when she would tell me that I needed the Lord I would tell her that I "tried" Him and He didn't do anything to help me keep my husband. So she would continue to talk to me every chance she got...always telling me I needed the Lord in my life.

She was very patient with me and very loving. To this day I call her my "persistent pest". I thank God for her to this day!!! Every week at least once a week she would invite me to come to church with her. Finally one day (about two weeks after my husband had left) I decided to go.

My in-laws had neighbors that went to the same church that my "persistent pest" went to. So I asked my sister-in-law to go with me and she said she would. That next Sunday my kids, my sister-in-law and I went to church. From the moment I walked through those doors of that church I felt loved. I also felt God's presence (although at that time I didn't know that was what it was I was feeling). I sat through the service under conviction the entire service. At the altar call another lady that worked at the bowling center I worked at came and asked me to go to the altar with her. All she did was pray with me. While she was praying with and for me I was praying and asking God to forgive me for my sins!!

Now...I didn't specifically ask God to come into my heart and save me. At that point in my life I still thought I had gotten saved four years prior. But what a blessing when even though our mouth doesn't know what to say and what to ask for that our heart knows what we need and what to cry out for. All I know is that when I got up from that altar that a peace came over me like I had never had before. I knew in my heart that no matter what happened from that point on (whether my husband came back home or not) that my kids and I were going to be okay.

From that day forward I was a changed individual. It wasn't long after that day (June 26, 1994...I only know that is the day from a daily journal I was keeping at the time) that I learned to begin claiming God's promises. I claimed Psalm 27:14 ("Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.") as God's promise to me. I would request prayer for my husband in church and in Sunday School. Approximately two weeks later I got a phone call. My husband told me that he was on his way to see a divorce lawyer...that he was filing for divorce. I was hurt and upset (as any woman would be) but I still had that peace that God would take care of me. Two hours later he showed up at the house and told me he was going to move back home and give our marriage three months and that if nothing changed then he was gone and gone for good. I told him that was fair. He told me he didn't love me like a husband should love his wife but that he was only home for the kids.

I continued to take the kids and go to church faithfully. I would ask him to go each time we'd go and he would say no. Finally one Saturday he was sitting in our garage having his personal moment like he would do to get away from me and the kids....and the Lord began to deal with his heart and on that day in our garage he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. He had gone to church as a bus kid when he was a teen and knew how to be saved. He made a profession of faith as a teen that wasn't real. This time in our garage it was real. He truly repented. That is the day our marriage and our home took a turn for the miraculous!!!

My husband is now a missionary with Highways & Hedges Christian Ministries to the prisons and I am a missionary's wife. Ronnie and Kristina got saved not too long after my husband did and Michelle made a profession of faith that same week but realized in August of 2001 that she didn't have salvation and she gave her heart to Christ. Now we all serve the Lord in our church and on a daily basis as best we can with the Lord's help. I sit here before you today as a miracle and can speak of the miracle that God can repair a home and will as long as all involved let Him!!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HATH DONE!!!!!

From the Church of Rome to the Family of God

2008-06-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

I was raised in the Roman Catholic church in an all catholic town in Northern Maine. My father was an alcoholic and my mother a devout catholic. I was also a devout catholic and was even taught catechism in the CCD program. I married my high school sweetheart in 1974 and moved to the Northern Virginia area.

After six years of a failed marriage, knowing I could not get divorced (remember, this was the 70's and divorce was still frowned on by the catholic church), I decided that suicide was the only answer. I was "in love" with someone else who did not even know that I existed and life seemed too much to bear!

My best friend from Maine came to visit Virginia during her vacation. She had become this "born again" Christian and I had warned her not to "preach to me." However, the Lord had quite different plans for me. During her visit, we discussed the "end times." I had a great interest in Nostradamus and the future. I was so afraid to go through the horrible times that these so-called prophets had written about. I remember thinking that there just HAD to be a way out.

The Holy Spirit had spoken to my friend's heart and compelled her to bring along with her a tape of Hal Lindsey discussing the end times. He is the author of "The Late Great Planet Earth." Ironically, my husband had been reading that book lent to him by a man he worked with. I, of course, did not read it. I listened to Hal Lindsey discussing what Christ had to say about the end times in the Scriptures.

He also spoke about this plan of salvation! He spoke of how I could not work my way to heaven as written in Ephesians 2:8-9. He said that there was no one on this earth that was not a sinner as written in Romans 3:23. He said that because of my sin, I would have to pay the penalty, which is going to hell! WHAT? Go to hell? I had always been taught that if I did not die in mortal sin, I would go to purgatory until enough prayers and indulgences had been made on my behalf, then I would be released to heaven. Hal Lindsey's response to this was if I could get to heaven because of my good works on earth or because someone prayed me out of purgatory, then WHY in the world would God send Jesus to die for our sins? This meant that Jesus' death on the cross was not enough!? What a cruel and horrible thing for God the Father to do to His only Son!

All of this sounded so foreign to me. I had never heard such a thing in my entire life! I taught catechism, for crying out loud. Certainly I would have heard something from my priest or in my catechism book. Not once had I ever imagined that the things I was taught were according to a church's traditions and doctrines rather than what the Bible, the Word of God, taught.

I remember thinking to myself that I could honestly stand before God and tell Him that He had to let me into heaven because I had never heard about this plan of salvation as a catholic. It was not in any of my catechism books. I was telling the truth here. This was never something that had been taught to me ... not in church nor by my parents. Certainly God would understand this and let me into heaven! At the very moment this thought entered my mind, Hal Lindsey said "And you can't say that you never heard the plan of salvation because I just told you so!!

My friend, I can't begin to tell you what this did to me. I was NOW accountable before God for being a sinner and I was on my way to hell. It was at that time I knew that I was a goner and that I could not escape so great salvation.

I was born again by the Grace of God at noon on April 1st, 1980. Praise God for His unending mercy! Not only was I saved from eternal damnation but the Lord healed my broken marriage within just a few months!

I thank God that He used my dearest childhood friend as an instrument for my salvation. Now we are not only friends but sisters in Christ. This has been a source of great comfort and blessing to me throughout the years.

Saved by Grace,

Kate Plourde

New Feature: Referrals For Cash!

2008-06-01T00:01:00.005-04:00

Here at The Baptist Muse Forums, I am very excited to announce a brand new feature: referrals. When a new user registers, they will now be given the opportunity to enter the name of the person who recommended that they join.

This is exciting for one main reason: CA$H! I am going to pay $2.00 per referral to the top five referrers in the month of June. That means that if you refer ten people and you are one of the top five referrers then you just won a twenty dollar bill!

Write an article at your blog, send emails to your friends, tell your friends and family at church, or do whatever. Simply get people to sign up and post at the Forums at the Baptist Muse and you will have a chance to win $2.00 per referral!

*IMPORTANT!!: Be sure to instruct your friends to put your forum user name into the appropriate box labeled "Referred By." If this is not done they will not count.

Payment options include Paypal, Amazon gift card or snail-mail check.

P.S. The winner of our free book for this past week was Jude! Just email me your mailing information and I will send your book right out to you! Also, the Free Book Give Away will be discontinued indefinitely and is temporarily being replaced by our Referrals For Cash program.

God's Simple Plan of Salvation

2008-05-31T00:01:00.002-04:00

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again."

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. "For the wages [payment] of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal seperation from God in Hell.

"...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement" (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. "...He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us... that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11). "...without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]" (Hebrews 9:22).

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, "God...now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17.30).

This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: "...'Sirs, what must I do to be saved'? And they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...'"

Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected.

His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". (Romans 10:13).

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.

Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: "God be merciful to me a sinner." Just pray: "Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank you for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen."

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God's simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, "Surely, it cannot be that simple." Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God's plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this letter over and over until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God's power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God's promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to pratice daily for spiritual growth: Pray - you talk to God. Read your Bible - God talks to you. Witness - you talk for God.

You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord..." (2 Timothy 1:8).

"Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32).

Written by Robert Ford Porter

The Friday Funnies

2008-05-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

A young boy walked up to the preacher and said, "When I grow up, I'm gonna give you a whole bunch of money."

"Well that would be awfully kind of you," the preacher replied, "but why would you do that?"

"Because my daddy says that your the poorest preacher he's ever heard!"

_____________________________________

I was at a Methodist church last week and I saw a red phone with a sign that said '$50.' I was curious so I asked what it was. They explained to me that it was a phone in which you could speak directly to God. I paid the fifty dollars and sure enough I had a nice conversation with God.

The following week at my Baptist church I saw a red phone with a sign that said 'Free.' Again curious, I asked what it was. The preacher explained that it was for talking to God. "Why is it free here, but fifty dollars at the Methodist church?" I asked.

"At the Methodist church it is long distance!"

_____________________________________

Share Your Testimony!

2008-05-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

Well, my wife and I have just posted out testimony here at The Baptist Muse over the past week or so and we would like to extend an open invitation to everyone else to do the same. If you are saved...then we want to hear about it. Let us know when you got saved and how the Lord has been working in your life. You don't have to be a great writer. Just be saved and we want to hear about it. Just email your testimony to me or submit on the contact page and I will feature it as an article right here on the Blog page!

So what are you waiting for? Let's get the word out about what God has done in your life!

About the Founder of The Baptist Muse

2008-05-28T00:01:00.002-04:00

I was raised in Amboy, IL, a small rural community in the northern part of the state. I was raised by my father as a single child until I was thirteen years old. It was during that time, that I received Christ as a young child at vacation Bible school at the First Baptist Church in Amboy, IL.

I lived with my father only until I was thirteen because he was a very violent man. He was a very hard drinker and often succumbed to very violent fits of anger. He was abusive both mentally and physically. My childhood was anything but easy.

Due to these difficult circumstances in my home, it was at that time that my Aunt and Uncle adopted me into their family. When that transaction took place, I gained two brothers and one sister. I also later found out that my mother remarried and had two daughters who I have yet to meet.

From the time I was in the eighth grade until the time that I graduated high school, I had the privilege of attending small private schools. During my freshman and sophomore years of High School, I attended the Young Men’s Leadership Academy in Letts, IA. This was a military styled Christian school with much emphasis on leadership, responsibility, and learning various vocations. During my Junior and Senior years of high school, I attended the Amboy Baptist Academy. It was at this school where I was trained in what is considered to be a classical education. I was taught linguistics (Spanish both years, Latin both years, and French one year), logic, rhetoric, formal debate, physics, algebra, and grammar.

After high school, I attended Commonwealth Baptist College in Lexington, KY. It was there that I received my Bachelor’s degree in General Studies. My areas of focus included pastoral leadership and missions. I was able to graduate without taking on any student loans by working a full time job during my college years.

After college, I joined the United States Army. I entered the United States Army in February of 2007. When I raised my right hand and took the oath of enlistment to protect the Constitution from all enemies, I did so for three reasons.

First, I joined the Army to honor the service of my cousin who valiantly served for six years in the United States Army and received a purple heart and other medals for actions that took place at the Battle of Fallujah, Iraq.

Second, I joined to reclaim my family name. My father received a dishonorable discharge after serving for approximately twelve weeks in the United States Navy. The dishonor that he brought upon our family name will stop at my generation.

Third, and most importantly, I joined because I genuinely wanted to serve and defend my nation and my loved ones. Often I felt as if patriotism was a faddish movement in our nation. People would wear patriotic hats or shirts. People would stand up at the playing of the national anthem. Many of those people, however, did absolutely nothing to contribute to the success and greatness of our nation. I did not want to be counted in their ranks. I would rather make my patriotism known with my actions…so I joined the United States Army.

While in the military, I hope to continually challenge myself to grow and expand in all areas of my life. I hope to better myself in terms of self-discipline, leadership, self-confidence and many other areas. I hope to provide a solid home life for my wife and whatever children the Lord will give me.

My Testimony: Looking Back at the Grace of God (Part 3)

2008-05-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

The church eventually grew and we purchased a building downtown. The building was an old double movie theatre. I used to laugh and tell my friends that I went to the movies three times a week. They would look at me and then I would explain about the building.

While in the youth group one summer we had a youth revival. The man preached a message called “Don’t Let the Light Go Out”. The sermon was on hell. He had all of the lights off in the auditorium except for one flashing red light. Since our building used to be a theatre there were no windows in the auditorium. It was pitch black. In the background while he was preaching he was playing a tape of people screaming in pain, it sounded like people were falling, and being tortured or in serious pain which was the point. The sound was to be people in hell crying out for relief. At the end of the sermon he shut the light off which represented us dying without Christ and at death we didn’t have any more chances to come to Christ. I felt convicted in my heart that I was lost and on my way to hell. However I regret to say that I did nothing about it that day. I believe that this was in June of 1998 or maybe July. I kept telling myself that I already took care of this a long time ago.

The Lord kept working on me about this over the summer. In September of 1998 we had a revival meeting. The evangelist was telling about his different booklets one night before the service and one of the ones he talked about was his booklet entitled “Salvation is Simple ABC”. I was so convicted about my lost state that I could barely sit in my seat to listen to the sermon. After the service that night I accepted Christ as my savior. I was baptized the next night after the service.

I surrendered my life to serve the Lord anywhere, anyway. I made many decisions as a teenager that have gotten me to where I am today with God’s grace and help. Who my friends were going to be, who I wasn’t going to be like, that I would remain pure until I got married, and the list could go on.

I attended a public school until I was in eighth grade and then was homeschooled until I was done with high school. After high school I attended a bible college for two years and then worked on staff at a Christian summer camp where I met and started dating my husband.

There are several people through the years that have made a major impact in my life. Some of them have passed on to Heaven to be with the Lord. I am so grateful for all of them and there is no way that I can repay them but to invest in the lives of others.

As I look back over the years I see where my life could have lead if I didn’t surrender and follow the leading of the Lord in my life. For all of you who think that God can’t use you because you come from a broken home, or it seems like no one else in your family is serving the Lord. You can make it and serve the Lord if you seek Him in your life and surrender to Him daily. You don’t have to be another statistic or a bad sermon illustration.

Serving the Master,

Diane Cardot

A Memorial Day Tribute

2008-05-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

Memorial Day is set aside for us to remember those who have died defending our great country. It was first proclaimed by General John Logan on May 5, 1868. The first Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868. Flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at our own Arlington National Cemetery.

But do we need an official day to honor those precious souls who have defended our nation? Should our gratitude be set aside for just one day a year? Sadly, this is true for many Americans.

I can remember the early years of my childhood where anyone serving in the military was revered and appreciated for his contribution. We all wore the little poppy flower on our lapels to show our gratitude for those who gave unselfishly for our country. What a sight it was to sit in church and see everyone wearing these little poppy flowers. Later, we would attend the Memorial Day Parade and our war Veterans would be marching and everyone would wave their little American flag, clap and hail them as they marched by. The cheering would be deafening! Pride, patriotism and gratefulness swelled in our hearts as we cheered!

Unfortunately, I have seen this dissipate throughout the years and it is ashame - in fact, it should be an embarrassment to the American people! This reveals the general attitude of our country. This lack of gratitude is a blemish on the American flag and it stomps on the graves of the precious soldiers who fought, bled and died for what our flag represents.

Today's soldiers who fight for this great nation have the same courage and vision as those who fought during our first wars in the Colonial wars! These soldiers do not have the privilege of having an opinion on the politics that put them into battle. They willingly place themselves in harm's way because they believe that the United States is still the best country in the world. Our country was founded on biblical Christian principles and it is great today because of this foundation.

Unfortunately, America is moving further away from this precious foundation. Is it any wonder that our military no longer comes home to a hero's welcome as they did yester-year with ticker tape parades? Is it any wonder that Americans honor their war dead only once a year with no thought of them on the other 364 days? If your child was killed in action, wouldn't you want your countrymen to appreciate what he did for them?

What do you do on Memorial Day? Do you use this holiday to spend time with the family and have a BBQ? Or, do you visit veterans at the nursing home? Have you taught your children why we celebrate this holiday? Have you taught them to honor those in the military who are yet still living? Why wait until they are dead to honor them? Honor them today with your gratefulness. Don't be shy - show them by going up to them in the restaurant and thank them. Better yet, pay for their meal!

My son, a Marine, has gone to Olive Garden twice and both times his meal was paid by a grateful citizen! Reach out - thank those in your family, those in your church and your community. Keep the gratitude moving and continue to honor those who gave themselves for our beloved United States.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
~Moina Michael~

An Honored Military Mom,
Kate Plourde

*****

Author Info:This is a guest post by Kate Plourde, who is using her personal experience to encourage and challenge Christians with Cancer.

My Testimony: Looking Back At The Grace of God (Part 2)

2008-05-24T00:01:00.003-04:00

The man knocked on our door and introduced himself as Pastor Brad Cranston. He was the pastor of a church that was recently started and was meeting at the local community college on Sundays and in his home on Wednesdays. The church was an Independent, fundamental, KJV only Baptist Church. He invited us to church and we started attending in the next few weeks.

On August 22, 1992 Pastor Brad Cranston came into our home and led me through a prayer in our living room. I didn’t get baptized right away because we had to go to another church to use their baptistery. In October of 1992 Heritage Baptist Church was established and I was a part of the founding day. I remember signing the member roll.

For a while my pastor worked a second job to support his family and the small congregation. I can remember going to church and it was the pastor’s family, my family and a hand full of others. One of the jobs my pastor did on the side was to be a substitute bus driver. The year that I was in third grade we were required to take swim lessons at the local high school. I can remember being ashamed that he would see me not in a skirt like he did at church but in shorts or pants. I used to try to use my backpack to cover it up so that he couldn’t see. Little did I know that it was the Holy Spirit working on me to convict me about my dress standards.

While helping in the nursery one Sunday morning a lady in the church asked me if I wore dresses all of the time. I said no and went about my day. It was a question that I couldn’t get out of my mind. I can remember surrendering to God in this area of my life. I went home from church and told my mom that I didn’t want to wear pants anymore but that I only wanted to wear skirts and dresses. My mom said ‘ok’ and she went to my closet and she removed all of the pants and shorts that I owned. She removed the temptation from me after telling me that once I made the decision there would be no turning back. This is a decision that I do not regret as I believe that this is God’s will.

To Be Continued on Tuesday...

My Testimony: A Look Back at the Grace of God (Part 1)

2008-05-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

I have been in church almost every day of my life since I was born. I attended Riverside Baptist Church until I was about three years old. Sometime before I turned three my mom came home from work to find another woman leaving her house. This woman was having an affair with my biological father. As a result, my mom and my biological father were divorced sometime before I was three.

Shortly after, my mother married Gary, now my stepfather, on the day after Christmas in 1986. Gary took on the role of a father to my older brother Dean, who would have been 10, and to me. He loved us as if we were his own children. At the time that they were married, Gary had three children of his own living with him. He also had four other children, one whom he had adopted.

We attended the First Southern Baptist Church from 1986 until the summer of 1992. The Southern Baptist Church did preach salvation, however they did not believe in standing for the King James Version or in a biblical separation of dress.

Each summer the church had what was called ‘backyard bible school’. This was very similar to Vacation Bible School which many of you are very likely familiar with but instead of taking place at the church it took place in the home of a church member. One summer I must have made a confession of faith buy I don’t remember it. What I do remember is being baptized. The baptistery was huge it was the size of a small swimming pool or at least it seemed like it to me.

In July of 1992 I was standing in the kitchen talking to my mom and dad. My older brother Chris was present there as well. We looked out the window and saw a man walking down the street wearing a white shirt. We had a lot of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons that knocked on our doors growing up. We all assumed that this man was from one of these two churches. I remember someone saying that they needed to go get one of our church tracts to give to him. Little did we know that this man would have a huge impact on my life personally.

To Be Continued Tomorrow...

The Friday Funnies...A Day Early - The Trunk Monkey

2008-05-22T00:01:00.002-04:00

Addicted To God (Part 4)

2008-05-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

We Must Always Be Growing Our Desire For God!

It is sad that there are Christians reading this who have only been saved for a few months or a few years who have more excitement and desire to be used of God than those who have been saved for many years.

It is sad that there are Christians reading who have been saved out of wicked sin who are more excited about being used of God than those who have enjoyed growing up in Christian families or who have enjoyed having a good family for some time now.
I was saved as a young child. I have been saved for over fifteen years, but it’s time right now for me to be more excited about serving God and having God do a work in my life than I have ever been.

There are those who struggle with addictions. They struggle with a desire to smoke a cigarette that is so strong they can’t break that habit. They struggle with a desire to drink another sip of alcohol. Those desires have been fed for years and now they struggle to break those desires and those habits.

You see for years they enjoyed cigarettes or drugs or alcohol and now to stop is one of the hardest things in their lives.

But why don’t we as Christians decide that we are going to spend so much more time with God, and doing the work of God that we get addicted to God! I mean, why don’t we cultivate our desire for God until it is so strong that people couldn’t get us away from church if they tried. So that people couldn’t get us to cuss or say something wrong if they paid us. Someone at work once asked my wife if she ever cussed. She said no. They offered to pay her ten dollars to say a bad word. She told them that it would take a whole lot more money than that to get her to cuss.

Our desire for God should be so strong that we are addicted to him!

We need to do right so much and feed that desire for God so much that we can’t be pulled away for anything. We need to feed it so that we would be addicted to doing right and living morally straight. How bad do you want God to do a work in your life?

Developing An Addiction To God

Spend time with those who are addicted to God!

To be a success in any area of life we must spend time with people who are a success in that area. It does not matter if you are an electrician, a carpenter, a preacher, or an engineer. It does not matter what industry you are in. If you spend time with people who are successful in that field, you will learn how to be a success.

Be faithful to church as there is no better group of people to be around when trying to grow your desire for God than those who are at the house of God.
Spend time feeding your addiction to God!

Sometimes you won’t want to go to church. Sometimes you have to go and then later you will want to. Spend lots of time in the Bible and praying even when you don’t want to. Sometimes the ‘want-to’ only comes after much time spent doing the right thing.

Conclusion

How badly do you desire to have God do a work in your life? How strong is your desire for God? Is your desire for God so strong that it changes your life, your conversation, and your behavior?

I could never understand what it might be like for thirty eight years of waiting for God to do a work in that man’s life. He desired that blessing so badly he would wait seemingly forever for it. How strong is your desire for God in your life?

In Christ,

Bro. Nick

Addicted To God (Part 3)

2008-05-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

How Bad Do You Want God To Do A Work In Your Life?

My question for you today is, “How bad do you want God to do a work in your life?”

There are two types of desires:

Flippant desires- where we would like to have something but aren’t willing to allow our life to change in order to get it.
Life changing desires- where we would be willing to do anything to fulfill that desire.

A desire is only as strong as the action it produces.

When I ask you how bad you want God to work in your life, I am not asking how much you feel like it would be a neat thing. I am asking how much your life is being transformed by the thought of God being real in your life. How much of your time is consumed thinking about God? How much of your time is consumed reading the Bible? How much of your time is consumed praying? How much of your time is consumed fighting against sin? How much of your time is spent feeding the desire to have God in your life or don’t you? Do you just spend your time living for the flesh and feeding the desire to live for the world and feeding the desire to do those things that oppose the very nature of God!

You see when you get a real desire to have God do a work in your life it goes beyond saying it with your lips and your tongue. It will transform your behavior. That’s the type of desire I’m talking about today. A desire is only as strong as the action it produces!

Life IS A War Of Desires

I’ve learned that often life is a war of desires. Paul said in Romans 7 that he often desired to one thing, but found himself doing something else. We desire to do right for God, but we desire to do wrong in the flesh.

“For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do…. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” ~ Romans 7:19,23

An old Indian chief once said that there are two dogs fighting within him. One dog is good, pure white dog. The other is bad, pitch black dog. A young Indian asked the old chief which dog would win the fight. The old Indian replied that the one whom he fed would win the fight.

You say that you desire to have God do a work in your life…..But do you actually feed that desire. You say that you want to enjoy the blessings of God….But do you actually feed that desire and live for him.

To Be Continued Tomorrow...

The Weekly Book Give Away!

2008-05-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

Three weeks ago, we re-introduced a weekly book giveaway here at The Baptist Muse. This coming week, we will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Wonderful Names of Our Wonderful Lord' by Charles E. Hurlburt and T.C. Horton. We have been allowing every comment at the Forums to count as a ticket in a drawing to determine who wins the free weekly book give away. The contests begin at Saturday noon and end exactly seven days later. This week will be no different. Jump right in and get involved over at the Forums and you might just win a free book! The winner of last week's book is Jeff, also known as 'JeffTheBaptist' from Ashland, KY ! Congratulations you have a brand new copy of 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs' coming your way!

Addicted To God (Part 2)

2008-05-18T00:01:00.001-04:00

“Now there is...a pool, which is called...Bethesda...And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ~ John 5:1-5

They beg the doctor for a solution, but in those days there was no solution. Jacob would have to live his life without legs. Now in those days there was no state aid. There were no wheelchairs. At the age of one year old he had been condemned never to be wed, never to have a family, and never to understand any of the joys of society but only to live life as a cripple.

Finally after growing up as a cripple, he hears of this miraculous pool called Bethesda. It was said that an angel would come down from heaven and stir the water there. It was said that whoever would step in the water would be healed of any disease or illness that they had. I can imagine as this man’s eyes light up. He gets some friends to carry him to this pool and he begins to wait for the stirring of the water.

But when he arrives he is saddened to find that there are many people there. There are many people who are trying to get in the water. Eventually the water is stirred and he begins to crawl toward the water. But before he can get into the water someone else steps in and his opportunity is gone. The tears begin down his eyes as he is so disappointed but he determines that he will stay closer to the water and crawl faster next time. But again someone steps in before him. And it goes on like this not for days, not for weeks, not for months, not for years, but for decades as this man sat with this disease for thirty-eight years.

His Desire Outweighed All The Obstacles

Friends, I am only twenty three and I will be the first one to tell you that I have no idea what it might have been like for him to have stayed there for thirty eight years.

But somehow this man’s desire to be healed was stronger than any of his disappointments. This man’s desire to be made whole was stronger than any of his loneliness. This man’s desire for God to do a work in his life was stronger than any of his obstacles and he remained at the pool of Bethesda, his place of hope for thirty eight years! His desire was so strong for God to do a work in his life that he waited thirty eight years without ever giving up.

To Be Continued on Tuesday...

Addicted To God (Part 1)

2008-05-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

“Now there is...a pool, which is called...Bethesda...And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ~ John 5:1-5

Todd and Amy have two children, Alex and Garret. They love them and they do their best to provide for them. And when the news comes that Amy is pregnant with a third child they are both overjoyed. They are as excited as ever to know that they will soon have another child. After eagerly and painstakingly waiting nine months they are blessed with a beautiful baby boy. He is healthy. He is strong. He is everything they wanted in a child. They name him Jacob. They take Jacob home and begin to take care of him. Throughout the months to follow they watch as he develops as the other two children had done.

But after several months they begin to notice a problem. You see Jacob has a problem with his legs. They bow out in a peculiar way and Todd and Amy get worried. They take their child and they go the doctor’s office to see what the problem might be. When they arrive they are told in detail how his legs are formed wrong. But the doctor encourages them by telling them that the corrective surgery to fix this problem is nothing but routine for him. He tells them they can have his legs fixed and in only months he will be walking and running as well as any child his age. Without a doubt they go for it. The surgery is performed and Jacob is soon running and playing, as we all know, as well as any other child.

But let’s go back and change the scenario just a bit. Two thousand years ago a man and woman just like Todd and Amy are thrilled to know that they soon will be the proud parents of a little baby. And when the day comes they are overjoyed to hold a healthy little boy in their arms. Perhaps they even name him Jacob. It was a popular Jewish name. They begin to take care of him and they watch as he begins to develop into a young boy.

But just as in Todd and Amy’s case they begin to notice a problem. His legs are not formed correctly. They rush to get the help of the doctor and the doctor gives his diagnosis. His body will continue to grow, he tells them, but his legs will grow weaker and weaker until he is no longer able to use them. Perhaps, he’ll be two years old when they become too weak to use, perhaps sooner. They beg the doctor for a solution, but in those days there was no solution. Jacob would have to live his life without legs. Now in those days there was no state aid. There were no wheelchairs. At the age of one year old he had been condemned never to be wed, never to have a family, and never to understand any of the joys of society but only to live life as a cripple.

To Be Continued Tomorrow...

Our Three Year Anniversary

2008-05-16T00:01:00.003-04:00

During the summer of 2004 I had the opportunity to work on summer staff at Cedar River Baptist Camp. I was on summer break from college and felt the Lord working in my life that I would not be going back to school in the fall and that I shouldn’t go home for the summer. I called my pastor and he counseled me not to stay at the school during the summer but that I should work on staff at the camp. There were two other girls from my church working there that summer.

I went and worked at the camp. My desire that summer was to serve the Lord and allow him to work in my life. While working at the camp that summer I prayed that God would give me a clear direction as to what I was to do in the fall. After being at the camp for about three weeks I got moved to the office to assist my very dear friend Karie. After moving to the office I felt the Lord leading me to stay on staff at the camp after summer was over and not go back to college. I prayed about this and counseled with my pastor and the director of the camp and I ended up staying until the beginning of March 2005.

Shortly after I moved to the office there was a young man who was working on staff for his fourth summer. He did a lot of things that required him to be in the office and he would try to talk to me. At first I didn’t respond back to him. I didn’t want to get in trouble as the camp had a strong stand against relationships during the summer as most of the summer staff was young teens. I must say that at times the first week he tried to talk to me I was very rude to him.

He was persistent and eventually I came around and would talk to him. The young man’s name was Nicholas or Nick to all of his friends. Nick befriended me and as the weeks went on I realized that there was more feelings there than just a friendship. Still not wanting to get in trouble I didn’t say anything to anyone. I prayed that the Lord would show me his will in this area of my life. I can still remember the morning that I prayed, “Lord if this is meant to be more then please show me now…if not then please take these feelings away.” That same day there were a group of men out playing instruments and singing choruses. The director of the camp came in and sent Karie and I out for a 15 min break from the office. When we went out Nick was up there acting like he could play an instrument. I didn’t realize it until someone pointed it out that I was watching him and not really paying attention to anything else.

I excused myself and headed back to the office. I was almost to the door when I heard the director say that he and his wife needed to talk to me. 'Oh no!' I thought, 'he saw me watching Nick and now I am going to get in trouble.' I went over and they talked to me for a while about how my summer was going and about staying on and working in the fall. Then they said that one of the young men on staff had approached them about courting me and that he had already contacted my parents and my pastor. I was a little scared at first since the only guy on staff that was my age or older than me was Nick’s friend Russell. I didn’t say anything about who I thought it was and they then told me that it was Nick and asked me if would be interested in getting to know him. I didn’t stop and think about it for more than a few seconds. I said yes because the Lord had answered my prayer from that morning and from the days before that.

We went on our first date the next night which was July 8. We got engaged December 31, 2004 and then were married on May 16 ,2005. Today is our three year anniversary. I will never forget the day that I married my best friend, the love of my life, my sweetheart Nicholas Cardot.

To all you single ladies out there God has someone that he made just for you. Just be patient and wait for him. I wasn’t looking for my future husband that summer I was looking to live for the Lord and he crossed our paths. God’s timing is perfect and you will be the happiest when you are in the center of God’s will.

Serving the Master,

Diane Cardot

Parenting that Pleases the Father

2008-05-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

The story you are about to read is true and - sad to say - probably happens more often than we realize or would even like to believe. The episode took place in Target and had a profound effect upon me. I was shopping for a birthday present to give a little girl. Quite naturally, I was in the toy section browsing through isle-after-isle of stuffed animals, action figures, dolls, and games trying to make the perfect selection for a near perfect little girl. Right near the "boy's toys" two women, with a little boy in their shopping cart, were carrying on a conversation. They were loud and unpleasant and as I paused at the end of their isle I saw the boy's mother backhand him across the face—hard. She cursed at him (the likes of which are too embarrassing to record in this writing) and told him never to pull on her jacket again. He couldn't have been more than three-years-old and burst into uncontrollable tears.

She continued to publicly berate him as I stood there with my jaw dropped and my eyes wide open. I was astonished. What on earth could I do? I wanted to rescue the little guy. I wanted to comfort him and tell him everything would be okay, that his Mommy must've had a really bad day and she really didn't mean to hurt him like she did. But he wasn't mine; he was hers. Hers to make and to mold into the man he was bound to become — angry, resentful, and a hater of women.

I escaped to the next isle over and wondered what that little fella's days were like. If his mother behaved this way in public, I could only imagine her behavior at home. My ear caught the conversation between the two offenders: "She was watching you"..."I don't care who was watching me, that ain't child abuse - that's discipline! Let her say one word, and I'll be cursin' her out." This, of course, was all said in reference to me. I find it remarkable that I never said one word to these women and yet a reference was made to "child abuse." That little boy's mother KNEW full well that she had abused her son. Physically and emotionally. And he would remember it for a very long time. Poor little guy.

In the front of the store, a whole different situation caught my ear. Another little boy was crying—uncontrollably. His words came out between dramatized sobs, "I want it! I want it! I WANT IT!" As I write this, I am more than sure my readers have witnessed parents who do what I am about to describe: Nothing. They did absolutely nothing. In fact, they ignored him. They acted as though he wasn't even there! They didn't instruct him, they didn't look at him. They just dragged their screaming son down the aisles, placing items in their cart and staring blankly ahead as if the child was a figment of their imaginations.

Once again, I was astonished. What on earth could I do? I wanted to rescue the little guy. I wanted to instruct him and let him know that if he didn't behave properly we would leave the store and take care of his selfish behavior outside, in the car. But I couldn't. He wasn't mine; he was theirs. Theirs to make and to mold into the man he was bound to become—angry, selfish, discontent, and unable to maintain normal relationships. Poor little guy. Was he being bratty? Yes. Do I think that the other people in the store were annoyed by his behavior? Yes. Was it his fault that he continued? No. The fault lies at the feet of the parents who would rather not own up to the fact that it is their responsibility to take the time and effort to properly confront and deal with their child's unacceptable behavior.

May the above situations never be found in the life of a Christian parent. The Bible instructs us to train up our children in the way they should go and then, when they are old, they will not depart from it. This includes much love and much discipline, both given to the child in a way which would please the heavenly Father.

--
Kindest regards,
Mary Engesetter

Author Info: Mary Engesetter is a happily married mother of three, writer, Sunday school teacher, church secretary, business owner, lover of nature and natural medicine, and, most importantly, child of God. She records her thoughts and observations about life through the keyboard and camera at her blog entitled "The Way It Is."

The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 2)

2008-05-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

The issue in the minds of most liberal women is the idea of equality. They feel that to be a housewife is a disgrace and that they should not have to subject themselves to that low degree. They feel that the position of housewife is a lower position and that they should not have any more responsibility to fulfill that role than should the husband. The problem they have is that the look at the proper Biblical role of women as a lesser position and the workforce as a higher position. This is twisted, corrupted thinking. The Biblical pattern provides for the care and love of women. It provides for them to be honored and exalted. Yet the modernist looks at it as the opposite. The workforce is a hard place and a hard path to go. It is a place that the husband should not want the wife to have to lower herself to. If God leads then the husband and wife will go that direction but usually God does not lead in that way and the husband should have a desire to deliver his wife from having to live through life in the modern workforce. That is the once accepted Biblical pattern for women and the home.

This is the trend that has taken American women by storm in our modern generation of Americans. This trend has lead to the breaking up of the family, the insecurity of children based on the lack of love and acceptance no longer being found in the home, and many more issues. Women were at one time the primary teacher of the children in the home. Today the public school systems have become the mental mothers of children in many ways. The school system is now the one who determines and teaches the children the philosophies that will affect him for the rest of his life. They now provide for the children counselors and psychologists to provide the emotional stability that the children can no longer find in their homes. They have counselors that will help them to determine their life occupation which was at one time the role of the mother and father. The public school system is brainwashing America’s youth into believing Atheism, evolution, and many other blasphemous lies of the devil. And this brainwashing is being allowed because of the rise of the feminist movement. The wife is now at work when she was at one time at home teaching, training and loving her children. Satan has stepped in, transformed the philosophy of women, and is now destroying our children by the millions and millions.

We must understand that the way God ordained is the way that God blesses. People cannot have proper, functional families and live in such a way that is in direct rebellion to the plan of God. America needs to turn back to God in the area of the family if she ever hopes to see God’s blessing on her again. The transforming of the family has brought about the transforming the nation toward the sins of the devil and of hell. And the transforming of the family has been brought about by the rise and exaltation of the feminist movement.

In Christ,

Nick

The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 1)

2008-05-13T00:01:00.001-04:00

At the founding of America the home was the most important thing in a person’s life. Men bleed and died in order to prepare a land where they, their families, and their posterity could live in freedom and prosperity. They fought with their lives to protect and prosper their children, wives…… their families. Men worked hard to provide for the home, often working far more than eight hour shifts, far more than five days a week, far more than is the norm today. Women of the day were exalted, loved, and taken care of. These women loved their families and counted it a great honor to raise and rear children with godly principles of hard work and character. Women of these days didn’t look at being a housewife as a chore, but as a privilege. They loved their children to the point that they wanted to give all that they had to see them grow up to be men and women of character for the next generation.

God’s design for the home is very similar to the way of life that was the accepted norm for the home in the early American republic. Yet today the home has become a very unimportant part of society. Nearly fifty percent or more of modern marriages end in divorce. Millions of children across America have no idea who their real, biological parents are because their parents live in fornication and adultery to an extreme degree. The modern family is in a sad, sad condition. Statistics tell us that Christian homes have the same, if not higher, rate of divorce that married couples of lost families. This is not God’s plan for our lives or for this great nation but is a demonstration of how much the sinful trends of the world have infiltrated the lives and families of Christians.

Satan knows that if he can destroy the home then he can destroy the church and the nation. To accomplish this destruction of the home he has tried to fill the minds of wives with discontentment. God does not intend to make a woman suffer through raising children, but it is His intention that children are to be a blessing and an heritage of the Lord. Yet Satan has reversed this godly trend that once dominated the minds of American wives and has put in them a spirit of discontentment and rebellion. He has slipped into their minds a desire to be free from the so-called bonds of being a housewife and have tried to encourage them to desire their equality with men. God intended that women be exalted, honored, and loved by their husbands. Satan is transforming that once accepted norm into a desire to be above men in such a way that would cause them to be in the workforce providing for the family. Satan is duping women into believing these thoughts of equality and freedom from being a housewife and is destroying our homes and our nation. Children now have to grow up and with no understanding of the love of two parents living under one roof, sharing, caring and providing for one another.

To Be Continued...

The Hope of a Nation

2008-05-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

When Nehemiah heard of the conditions in Jerusalem, he was immediately stirred in his heart. In fact, by all accounts, Nehemiah's heart was broken and he literally mourned and wept at the state that his homeland was now in. You see, there were small groups of people who had been in Jerusalem trying to repair certain parts of the city. Instead of seeing progress, however, they were laughed at, ridiculed, and held up from their task. In fact, their opposition knocked the wall down and burned the gates. The nation of Israel was in derision. Nehemiah was right to be heart broken.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. ~ Nehemiah 1:3

God's people were laughed at and their great city, their great accomplishments were torn to the ground. Today America is in the same condition. Our great landmarks of American history are being torn apart. The Christianity involved in the founding of this nation is being white-washed from the history textbooks. The Scriptures that once guided our leadership have become a relic that society looks upon with scorn and disdain. Christians who once set the standard for American living are now the laughingstock of the modern American culture. Preachers who take a stand against sin are derided as hate-mongers and as divisive. God is all but banned from the public eye.

The wall of America also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. In Nehemiah's day, those words drove him to weep and pray for his people, yet in our day Christians do very little in response to the declining state of our nation. Christians sit and watch as our nation quickly fills with sin. We stand idly by as Satan attacks us from within. Instead of being moved to tears for the sick condition of our homeland, we live insignificant lives catering to the devil's desires. We do little for the cause of Christ. We live apathetic to the need of this land.

We have been raising generation after generation of lazy Christians. Christians are now too lazy to read the Word of God and pray, let alone impact their community for Christ. Christians are too lazy to make any attempt at serving Christ the way that men and women did in the book of Acts. Our laziness to serve and love God the way that we ought to is sending this nation to hell!

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. ~ II Chron. 7:14

The world doesn't know any better than to do the things that they do. You can expect the world to promote sin and wickedness. If we want to see this nation turned around, we are going to need to see Christians that are filled with the Holy Spirit of God take a stand and make a difference. We need men and women to stand as that shining light on a hill in this dark and troubled world.

Will you join me in praying for America? Will you join me in seeking God's face? Will you join me in seeking revival in our own lives so that we might see a revival in America?

Will you join me?

The Weekly Book Give Away!

2008-05-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I re-introduced a weekly book giveaway here at The Baptist Muse. This coming week, we will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs.' We have been allowing every comment at the Forums to count as a ticket in a drawing to determine who wins the free weekly book give away. The contests begin at Saturday noon and end exactly seven days later. This week will be no different. Jump right in and get involved over at the Forums and you might just win a free book! The winner of last week's book is Baptist Brethren from Burlington, IA! Congratulations you have a brand new copy of '199 Treasures of Wisdom in Talking With God' coming your way!

Just use the contact button at the top of the page to send me your information and I will get you book shipped right out to you. Congratulations!

Product Description: This Christian classic tells the stories of brave men and women who were martyred for their faith in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries.

Contest Rules: To be eligible for this contest, all you have to do is sign up and leave some comments at The Baptist Muse Forum. This is a way for you to get to know other Christians, share prayer requests, debate for the truth, and many other things. I will be closely monitoring it to ensure that only appropriate comments will be added. Participating is completely free and you will receive one 'ticket' toward the drawing per comment submitted to The Baptist Muse Forum!

To determine the winner, I will use a random number generator using the total number of participants to set the limits of the generator. I will then begin counting through the members. The first member on the list at the end of this week will be number one. The second member at the end of this week will be number two. Etc. Whatever the number generator spits out at me, that is the winner of the book. If the generator spits out the number 12, then the twelfth person on the list will win the prize. In that way, it will be random among those who participate. I will then announce the winner and contact you to get your mailing address and I will send it right out to you!

In Christ,

Nick

My Ten Year Adoption Anniversary

2008-05-09T23:23:00.002-04:00

On May 9, 1998, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Janelle adopted me into their family rescuing me from an abusive father and giving me a loving family. This was exactly ten years ago today. I struggled with a lot of things growing up including rebellion and resentment over my childhood. These folks who had no reason to help me continued to love me no matter what. This is a poem that I wrote in honor of their sacrifice.

Thank You by Nicholas Z. Cardot

In Honor of James and Janelle Delhotal

There comes a time in every life when trials fill the soul,
And all around no help is seen as heartaches take their toll.
Nowhere it seems can he escape whose life is plagued with hurt,
And the pains that fill that life of gloom, no joys come to avert,
When all around on every hand only struggles can be found.
And though that life would like to sing, the heart seems chained and bound.
Downward ever falling, that life would soon lose hope,
Distresses seem to hang that life at the end of no small rope.

Some men when they do reach that point, they put their trust in God,
And God draws near and walks with them as through this life they trod.
But other men, a bit less wise, reject the God from up above.
Their heart is filled with bitter thoughts and they decline His perfect love.
And when I found myself surrounded by these fears,
And on my face no joy was seen, but only always tears.
I chose the path of the unwise and departed from what's right.
Against the God who loved me so, I decided now to fight

I turned my back on all God's will, and fled from his bright face.
I hated all that brought to mind the thought of His sweet grace.
But in that time that I rebelled, when my heart was cold and black,
I seemed to feel a loving tough, it was a hand upon my back.
And when I looked to see whose hand was extended in my aid,
I saw a loving couple with no profits to be made.
The love of God shone in their face and pierced my heart straight through.
Their loving care reached deep within and made my heart anew.

I'll never understand just why they loved me so,
I'll never understand why they were there to help me grow.
And yet, they'll never really know how much their love has meant,
They'll never truly understand the thanks that I have sent.
Nothing could ever repay what these two have done for me,
No gift could open up my soul and truly let them see.
Instead I'd like to bring to them, on this their special day,
A heart of love and thankfulness, and these simple words I'd like to say,

Thank you for your love

Is the World Comfortably Abiding in Your House?

2008-05-07T00:01:00.004-04:00

A stubbornly resistant cold/virus has held me housebound for nearly a week now. Because there's not much else I can do but rest, I've had time to surf through cyberspace, and to scroll through the blogs of other Christian women. It's been wonderful to see the threads of Christian virtue woven through the writings of so many good ladies and young women.

It's always a good thing to try and imagine what you would do should the Lord Jesus Christ stop in for an unannounced visit. It helps to assess what one has in her home and whether or not it should remain there.

Yet I am troubled... troubled by a book. A book that I've seen highly praised by those who have read it and by those who have only heard about it yet cannot wait for a quite moment to sink their minds into its pages.

Many blogs I've seen have posted a picture of the book's front cover; and as soon as I saw its title I determined in my heart not to buy it and not to read it, ever! Maybe the information stored within its chapters would be quite worthy of my time. It may be chock full of applicable principles. But its title speaks of a separation issue right off the bat. You're curious about the title, right? Here it is, "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God." I think if all of us are honest, we'd have to admit that it brings to mind a less than virtuous television program—a sitcom that's worse than the worst, revealing and reveling in the ugliest traits a woman could possess. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." A perfect verse to describe the television program I'd rather not mention—it's that bad.

Why would an author who says God is her Father find it necessary to look to the world to title the book she, no doubt, labored over for months and months? Does not the Scripture exhort God's children, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Could it be the perfect will of God that the title of one's book conjure up polluted images of the world in the mind of the reader? Could it be acceptable to the Lord that one blogger mixed up the title's adjectives while writing her intentions to read this short volume? There's something very wrong about this, I think.

It's always a good thing to try and imagine what you would do should the Lord Jesus Christ stop in for an unannounced visit. It helps to assess what one has in her home (magazines, catalogues, DVDs, CDs, etc.) and whether or not it should remain there. And if He did come for a visit, each one of us would greet Him with much adoration and deep reverence, wouldn't we? But would we be ashamed at some of the items lying about the living room? Would we hurry to change the radio station? And what would we do if "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" was displayed on the coffee table directly in front of the place where the Lord was seated? I can hear it now: "It's not what you think, Lord, really. The title is different, it just sounds the same, but it's not the same thing as that television program. It's this book about Christian living, and it's really good, but it's not anything like that show. I know it looks that way—my unsaved neighbor thought the same thing—but it's not, really. Here, I'll just hide it for now." Shame. Not because of its contents (like I said, it may be a very good book), but because its title is equated with the wicked world. The unsaved around us should be able to plainly see the difference Christ has made in our lives. May it never be said of the professing Christian woman that the world comfortably abides in her house.

But why should we pretend that Christ may pay us an announced visit? There's really no need to merely imagine His divine presence. He is here, right now. Remember what the Lord said to His children, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." His all-seeing eye inventories the life of the Christian every single second. My life, your life. Have you anything you'd rather He not find? Is there something in your home, such as the above-mentioned book, that just doesn't seem right? Get rid of it. There's an abundance of good, unquestionable reading material out there for the Christian woman's betterment. To end this post, I will leave you with Scripture, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." I Thessalonians 5:22. As for "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God"? I'll never buy it, I'll never read it, ever. No apologies given!

Sincerely in Christ,

Mary Engesetter

Author Info: Mary Engesetter is a happily married mother of three, writer, Sunday school teacher, church secretary, business owner, lover of nature and natural medicine, and, most importantly, child of God. She records her thoughts and observations about life through the keyboard and camera at her blog entitled "The Way It Is."

Falling in Love With Him...Again

2008-05-06T00:01:00.003-04:00

After our first date things only went up hill in the relationship between my wife and I. We began to talk more. We spent more time together. We got to know each other, and eventually we fell in love. After a while we reached a point where we were totally infatuated with one another (that is the stage that we have now been in for the past three years!). When we stepped into that stage of our courtship a new aspect of our relationship emerged. We now went out of our way trying to make the other person happy. I wanted to know what restaurants she liked, what foods she liked, what colors she liked, what kinds of clothes she liked, and everything else that she liked. I then took that information and would take her to restaurants, buy her teddy bears, buy her flowers, buy her clothes, etc. I wanted to do whatever I could to make her happy.

It became my goal to try to find out what she wanted and then get it for her. Believe me, this was easy. My wife had such a small desire for new clothes, gadgets, and other stuff that it was easy to find out exactly what she liked. No matter what I got for her, she just loved it. She never commanded me to buy anything for her. She never coerced me to buy anything for her. In fact, most of the time she would complain and say things like "You shouldn't have!" or "You spent way too much on that!" or "I don't deserve this!" She was wrong. She deserved a lot more than I could ever give her. Even though she never once asked me to buy anything or do anything for her, I did because I loved her. My love drove me to do as much as I could to fulfill her wants. I wanted her to be happy with me, with what I did, with what I got her, and with what I did for her.

As we expand on our thoughts from yesterday, let's look once more at our relationship with God. If you've been in church for any time, you have heard people talk about the 'Will of God.' This is another one of those terms that I don't like. Let me explain before I get crucified. In our modern Christianity, many Christians always talk about the will of God on some huge scale as something that they are going to do years in the future. A teen will talk about what God's Will is for them after they graduate high school and after they graduate college while they are actively living in little sins today. A man will say that it is God's Will to start a ministry...someday. I hate seeing God's Will referred to exclusively in the future tense and exclusively on that large scale of thought.

Let's reshape the way that we look at God's Will and see it in the perspective of the relationship that we are supposed to have with God. The phrase 'Will of God' simply means 'what God wants.' Just like I said that I had set out on a quest to find out what my wife wants so that I can make her happy in our day-to-day lives, we need to be seeking out what we can do to satisfy what God wants in every area of our life. Don't just look at what God wants from you ten years from now. Think about what God would want from you today. Try to see what tie God would want you to wear when you get ready in the morning. Maybe you look at one tie and say to yourself, "I look really good in that tie so I should wear that one." And then you realize that it is pride and that God does not want to see you prideful so you decide to put off wearing that particular tie until another day. Yes, friends, God does care about the little things...and he cares about them today.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
~ Revelation 2:4

We ought to fall in love with Christ all over again every day and do everything that we can to find out what he wants us to do to please Him! We ought to treat God as though he were our best friend and we are trying to make Him happy or as though He is our dear loved one and we are trying to pamper Him with our love, affection, and service. The infatuation of a love-struck college boy ought to be our example for our relationship with God.

So let me ask you a few questions. Did you take God out on that first date that we talked about yesterday? Did you begin to rebuild that relationship? Are you falling in love with Him over and over again? Are you seeking throughout your day to find ways to please our loving God?

If not, there has never been a better time to start.

In Christ,

Nick

Your First Date With God

2008-05-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

I remember the day that I took my wife on our first date. It was in early July of 2004. We went to Wal-Mart and the mall and I was able to get her something to eat at the food court. As we walked around through the various stores, I had a difficult time thinking of what to talk about. I was nervous and most of our conversation was what I would now consider to be small talk. I couldn't think of what to say. I couldn't tell what products we should go look at. I couldn't decide if my hands should be at my side or in my pockets.

The entire time that we wondered around, I knew that I was attracted to her and I wondered if their was any mutual feeling or if she was just tolerating me. I wondered if she had any feelings for me and if she would want to go on another date or if this would be the last that I would see of her.

To make conversation I would ask her silly questions like 'When is your birthday?' Then I would say that my dad's birthday is that same month. I would ask her what color is her favorite, how many brothers and sisters she had, and what she like and disliked. It was pretty much a night of awkwardness...probably for both of us.

Ten months later, however, we walked down the aisle and said our wedding vows to one another. Since the time of our first date almost four years ago until now, my ability to carry on a conversation with her has dramatically changed. Today I can talk to her about anything. I can speak about whatever is on my mind or on my heart and she will respond and do the same. I don't worry any more by wondering if she feels toward me what I feel toward her. I know that she loves me.

I often hear people use the term 'fellowship' when referring to the relationship that we have with God. I have grown not to like this term. Don't mistake what I am saying. We need to fellowship and it is a Bible word. However, in many modern minds, fellowship has been so formalized.

We fellowship with other Christians only at organized functions. We fellowship with God only during our prayer time (if we have one) and even then we simply read our requests off of a list. True Scriptural fellowship includes much more than these formalities. It includes the same fellowship that I can now enjoy when talking with my wife or when taking her on a date.

If I spoke to my wife in the way that most Christians speak to God, she would slap me. That is to say if I only spoke to her for two minutes each morning and when I did I just read to her a list of my needs, I would deserve a black eye! Everyone of us would probably agree with that, yet we do the same thing to God. He doesn't want ten minutes in the morning. He wants fluid conversation all day every day. He wants to speak to us through his Word and he wants us to speak to Him through prayer.

He wants us to share with Him what we need, how we feel, our burdens, our desires, everything about our daily life. There is nothing to small for God to listen. The best part is that you won't ever have to worry about whether or not God feels toward you the same way that you feel toward Him. God loves you more than you will ever love Him this side of Heaven. If anything, God is wishing that you would reciprocate the feeling.

You've got to start this relationship somewhere. My wife and I started through slow, awkward small talk and over time we developed our relationship to where it is today. Have you begun to build your relationship with God? Are you actively enjoying conversations with God? If not, maybe it's time to take God on that first date again and rekindle that flame!

In Christ,

Nick

Rewards, Updates, and Growth!

2008-05-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well, last week I decided to begin promoting the forum page of The Baptist Muse by offering a free book to a randomly selected person who left comments there. Since last week's announcement, we have received close to four hundred comments over there. Needless to say, the forum is beginning to develop into quite the growing community. In fact, if you haven't been by there yet, then hop to it because this week we are going to do it again! Every comment over at the forum will be worth one chance to win our book for next week. I will be giving out the same book as last week, '199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking With God' by Andrew Murray. So hurry up, head on over, and get involved!

Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Congratulations! The winner of last week's contest is the user by the name of 'Media Missionary!' Just use the contact button at the top of the page to send me your information and I will get you book shipped right out to you. Congratulations!

This week, we will again be giving away a book entitled '199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking with God' by Andrew Murray. To enter this week's contest, swing by the forum section and leave some posts. Each comment at our forum will be worth one ticket toward next week's drawing!

I want to encourage everyone to get involved. If you are new to The Baptist Muse or if you have been a patron here for a while then right now is the perfect time to jump in and get rewarded. Swing by our forum section and get a chance at a free book!

Contest Rules: To be eligible for this contest, all you have to do is sign up and leave some comments at The Baptist Muse Forum. This is a way for you to get to know other Christians, share prayer requests, debate for the truth, and many other things. I will be closely monitoring it to ensure that only appropriate comments will be added. Participating is completely free and you will receive one 'ticket' toward the drawing per comment submitted to The Baptist Muse Forum!

To determine the winner, I will use a random number generator using the total number of participants to set the limits of the generator. I will then begin counting through the members. The first member on the list at the end of this week will be number one. The second member at the end of this week will be number two. Etc. Whatever the number generator spits out at me, that is the winner of the book. If the generator spits out the number 12, then the twelfth person on the list will win the prize. In that way, it will be random among those who participate. I will then announce the winner and contact you to get your mailing address and I will send it right out to you!

The contest ends Saturday at noon. I will calculate the results on Saturday afternoon and announce the winner on Sunday's post. Good luck!

Product Description: Widely recognized as one of Christendom's foremost authorities on prayer, the South African theologian Andrew Murray wrote prolifically on the deeper spiritual life. 199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking to God is drawn from Murray's writings relating to communion with God, explaining the what, when, why, and how of prayer.

Join The Team - Write At The Baptist Muse

2008-05-02T01:01:00.003-04:00

I proposed the idea of having guest bloggers for the first time two months ago. Initially, I had a great response. Several people volunteered to write articles here and every article received was an excellent piece of literature. Recently, however, very few people have been interested in this idea. This is my attempt to revitalize that idea. I would love to have a whole bunch of people who would be willing to write an article at certain intervals. Maybe you could write once or twice a month. Great! I would love to move this website away from a 'Nicholas Cardot' theme and more into a community theme. I want this website to be all about you. You don't have to be the best writer in the world. Be passionate. Be honest. Be real. We'll publish your work and give you the recognition you deserve!

If you are reading this article “Write For Us” , it’s probably because you are interested in writing for The Baptist Muse. Great! :)

I would like to develop a team of writers, preachers, godly wives, Christians, bloggers, [insert title here], and of course I'm always looking for quality content to publish on the blog.

If you’re a writer and an Independent Baptist, you're looking for a place to publish your work, and you can give great advice or write a great article about life, Christianity, finances, or whatever, get in contact with me.

What I Am Looking For

Please take some time to read the posts already published, so you get the idea of what The Baptist Muse is about. I'm looking for well-written posts/articles that Christians and Americans will be interested in reading, as simple as that.

If you would like to suggest a resource for our “resources” section, please leave me some comments also.

If you’re looking to get a little more exposure to your own blog or website and want to get your name out there, writing on The Baptist Muse should help you do just that.

Rules And Guidelines

Here are some basic “rules and guidelines”. Common sense really. ;)

500 words minimum
No images, I will add one
Spell check before sending your post(s)
If you’re not sure, send a sample of your work. (I don’t bite :) )
I reserve the right to edit your post (h3 and strong tags, punctuation, grammar)
Include a byline/signature (with 2 links max)
No affiliate links
No links to questionable websites

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me through my email. Please put “Write For Us” in the subject line.

Thank you very much,

Nick - The Baptist Muse

Site Updates To Tickle Your Fancy

2008-04-30T01:01:00.001-04:00

I'm really excited to announce some major updates to The Baptist Muse. Over the course of the past week, I have implemented several major and a few minor changes to this website. You will notice a new rating system for each blog post, a new rank structure at the forum, a new awards system at the forum, and the biggest update of all...an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church Directory in the resources section of the site. If you haven't taken advantage of these updates yet, be sure to check them out.

Forum Rank and Awards Systems

If you haven't posted anything at the Forum, what are you waiting for? The Baptist Muse Forum is a growing community where you can post questions and share thoughts about any topic in the world. And Now you will achieve rank for the more posts that you post and you can receive medals and recognition for your accomplishments through our band new awards system!

You'll start out as a private but you can work your way all the way up to Five Star General! You will also be able to complete challenges that we have posted to earn Challenge Ribbons. It's a great way to connect with others and it's loads of fun!

Check Out The Awards Here!

Check Out The Rank Structure Here!

Also, keep in mind that this week our weekly give away is being based solely on posts at the forum! You could win a free book just for checking it out!

Independent Fundamental Baptist Church Directory

I have implemented a thorough listing of Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Swing by there and make sure that your church is listed and properly updated. If not, just stop by the contact page and let me know what I can do to fix it...and I will....usually right away!

Check Out The Church Directory Here!

Blog Posts Rating System

I have also just implemented a rating system so that you can grade each of the posts at the Blog. You should notice the little star rating system at the bottom of each post. Leave one star if you didn't like a post and five stars if you thought that it was fantastic! Don't worry about being nice, just be honest! This will help me to understand which topics are the most entertaining or useful for you and will help me to improve the quality of the content here. Thanks in advance for the input!

There you have it! Those are this week's updates at The Baptist Muse. Be sure to check each of them out and be sure to leave some feedback so that I can continue to improve the quality of the site!

Thanks for being the best readers in the world!

In Christ,

Nick

A Lesson Learned: Persistent Prayer

2008-04-29T01:01:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was able to attend a ladies retreat with five other ladies from our church. We all had a good time and it was great getting to know the other ladies better. All of us that attended were married except for one lady. By the time we came home on Saturday, we were all ready to see our husbands again and those that had children were ready to see their kids.

We were in an active cabin. That was the camps way of saying that we were in a loud, noisy, crazy, etc cabin since the other cabin was quiet. We were in the right cabin though since we didn’t go to bed until very early in the morning both nights.

On Thursday night after the session they divided us all up into eight different groups. The way we were divided made it rare for us to end up with someone from our church and that was the point. While getting to know the other ladies that were in our groups, we had to decorate a paper flower in a mosaic pattern. It was a lot of fun.

Friday afternoon they did a craft. The craft was a candy tin where we took 12 Hershey nuggets and wrapped them in a piece of paper. You then arranged them inside of a tin that has a clear front so you could see the pieces all wrapped up. We then placed a ribbon around it with a paper tag that we made that could say a variety of things from "I love you," "Thinking of You," and "Thank You." They were very simple to make and they make a great gift idea.

There were a total of five different teaching sessions. The one that stuck out to me the most is from Friday night. The speaker taught about the woman in Matthew 15 whose daughter was vexed with a devil. The first time she speaks to the Lord he doesn’t respond. The disciples want Christ to send her away. The woman speaks to Christ again and is compared to a dog. The woman then uses Christ’s words when she says that even the dog eats crumbs from the master's table. Christ then answers her prayer by healing her daughter and he even tells that whole world about her great faith.

This is an example of a woman who had a need and she didn’t give up because Christ didn’t respond right away. She was persistent. She kept at it until she got an answer. How often in our lives do we go to Christ in prayer and then we stop praying because we don’t get an answer right away?

This was an encouragement to me to continue praying about the same thing until God answers. If I only pray about something once or twice and then say well God’s not going to answer this so I might as well stop praying, then I lack faith. This is not having faith that God will answer and supply the need. Don’t give up in your prayer life because God didn’t answer in your time frame. Pray consistently and God will answer in his time.

Serving the Master,

Diane Cardot

Get Rewarded at The Baptist Muse

2008-04-28T01:01:00.000-04:00

Last week we announced the restarting of our weekly book giveaway. Last week, each member of The Baptist Muse Topsites received one entry into the drawing. I apologize that this post is one day behind schedule, but as I promised here are the results from this past week's give away! Congratulations, Maranatha, your blog, 'I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes,' has won our weekly contest. Please use the contact page to notify me of your snail mail address and I will get your book shipped out right away!

This week, we will be giving away a book entitled '199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking with God' by Andrew Murray. To enter this week's contest, swing by the forum section and leave some posts. Each comment at our forum will be worth one ticket toward next week's drawing!

I want to encourage everyone to get involved. If you are new to The Baptist Muse or if you have been a patron here for a while then right now is the perfect time to jump in and get rewarded. Swing by our forum section and get a chance at a free book!

Contest Rules: To be eligible for this contest, all you have to do is sign up and leave some comments at The Baptist Muse Forum. This is a way for you to get to know other Christians, share prayer requests, debate for the truth, and many other things. I will be closely monitoring it to ensure that only appropriate comments will be added. Participating is completely free and you will receive one 'ticket' toward the drawing per comment submitted to The Baptist Muse Forum!

To determine the winner, I will use a random number generator using the total number of participants to set the limits of the generator. I will then begin counting through the members. The first member on the list at the end of this week will be number one. The second member at the end of this week will be number two. Etc. Whatever the number generator spits out at me, that is the winner of the book. If the generator spits out the number 12, then the twelfth person on the list will win the prize. In that way, it will be random among those who participate. I will then announce the winner and contact you to get your mailing address and I will send it right out to you!

The contest ends Saturday at noon. I will calculate the results on Saturday afternoon and announce the winner on Sunday's post. Good luck!

Product Description: Widely recognized as one of Christendom's foremost authorities on prayer, the South African theologian Andrew Murray wrote prolifically on the deeper spiritual life. 199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking to God is drawn from Murray's writings relating to communion with God, explaining the what, when, why, and how of prayer.

By the Authority of the U.S. Supreme Court

2008-04-25T01:01:00.000-04:00

In 1892, The Supreme Court of The United States of America declared without question that America is a Christian nation.

"These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."
~ U.S. Supreme Court

In their intensely thorough declarations, they took us step by step through the history of our early American Republic and showed without doubt that their decision was not based on anything less than fact, logic, and sound precedent! They began with Columbus, the pilgrims, and the early colonies and progressed their logic through state constitutions and congressional orders. They left no stone unturned as they made a solid and irrefutable case as to the Christian founding and establishment of this great nation!

In our modern society there is so much burying of history in an effort to further modern liberal agendas. In fact, many people go so far as to completely distort and rewrite the facts as they attempt to gain political power or public favor. The ACLU is working everyday to drive any mention about the Christian influence on our American founding right out the window.

This court case is now long forgotten in the annals of history. The congress which authorized the printing of King James Bibles is now looked at in mockery (1782). The presidential decrees for days of prayer and fasting are ignored and passed over in history class. The hundreds and maybe even thousands of quotes from the founders crediting God as the source of our freedoms, our liberties, our justice system, and for our government are completely ignored and thrown away!

A Few Points to Ponder: What other examples can you think of where the public arena has inappropriately kicked God out? Can you think of other examples of those in power working to rewrite history?

In Christ,

Nick

Those Hate-Mongering Baptist Preachers!

2008-04-23T01:01:00.003-04:00

I just recently read a wonderful article over at 'The Jungle Hut' entitled creatively 'A Rant.' This article is a must read so head over and check it out. Rita Vernoy, the author of that article, is a missionary to South America. She has faithfully and selflessly served to help the people there. She works with them, lives with them, prays with them, and does everything that she can to share the gospel with them. She truly is an unsung hero...unless of course you ask a secular liberal!

She has received comments recently attacking her and making statements suggesting that she is destroying these people's tribal spirituality, that she is a hate-monger, or that she is a 'spiritual pollutant.'

This is not the first time that I have heard people attacked for trying to share the gospel of Christ and I assure you that it will not be the last. As early as the book of acts, men have been attacked for preaching Christ. Can't you see Stephen standing there looking into heaven asking God's forgiveness on those who are stoning him into the history books?

Yet that's not the point of this post. What I want to look at is the argument that I seem to have heard a lot recently in my own experience. I had a lady ask me recently if I didn't feel it was a little bit selfish for me to say that I was going to heaven and that everyone else was going to spend their eternity in hell just because they don't believe in Christ the same way that I do. I have had others use the hate-monger card in referring to our belief in the clearly-taught Bible doctrine of hell.

If you believe that God would send an unbeliever to hell, you are a hate-monger! If you believe that God condemns homosexuality, you are a hate-monger! If you think that God judges people for sin, you are a hate-monger! If you believe the infallible, inerrant Word of God that men have tried to disprove but have never been able to, well, then you are a hate-monger!

Truth is not like a pet store full of puppy dogs. You don't get to pick and choose what you like. If it's the truth, it doesn't change just because you don't like it. Those folks who attack the Word of God cannot change its accuracy just because they don't like what it teaches. Their disbelief in heaven or hell will not change the fact that they are going to one of those two places. Their disbelief in the Son of God will not change the immutable fact that he is the Savior of the world.

Bro. Nick, you really are a hate-monger! If that is true, then it is also true that your doctor is a raging monster every time he informs you that someone has a disease. "You have a rare disease, but we should be able to treat it," the doctor says. Would you start hating him or would you thank him and graciously accept the treatment? Duh!

When it comes to hard truth from the Word of God, though, we would rather call names than accept the truth and dive into the remedy, Jesus Christ! Our liberal friends are sadly mistaken and highly hypocritical.

In Christ,

Nick

Made to be His Help Meet

2008-04-22T01:01:00.005-04:00

As a little girl, I dreamed about one day meeting my prince charming and being swept off my feet the same as any other little girl. I dreamed about what he would look like. I wanted someone that was tall with dark hair and very handsome. I dreamed about him riding off into the sunset with me on a white horse, or whatever else I might fantasize the perfect get away ride would be.

I planned every detail as a little girl from the perfect groom, the bridal party, the flower girl, the ring bearer, my dress, the colors and the cake. I can remember having my maid of honor picked out when I was probably 9 or 10. I really thought that she would be my maid of honor. We were inseparable for many years.

As I got older, I used to wish that I would marry a soldier. It didn’t matter to me what branch. I just loved the fact that they served our country to protect the freedoms that God has given us and not to mention that there’s something to say about a man in uniform.

I realized growing up that God was preparing me to be a helpmeet someday. As a young girl, in your teenage years and even in your young adult life there are things that you must learn to do and decisions that you have to make in your spiritual life.

As a child you need to learn to clean up after yourself. You need to learn how to clean a house. As a young girl I would say that I kept my room like a pig pen. It didn’t bother me until I was about 8 years old I guess when my dad came into my room with a camera and took pictures of my room. He told me that he was going to show them to my future husband someday to show him how I was going to keep our house when we were married. I can remember crying as he took the pictures. However that day I changed my room keeping habits and to this day I can’t stand for my house to be a mess. I love cleaning and I clean something in my house every single day.

Some of you may have learned to sew. This is a very important and practical skill that all ladies young and old can learn. My mother taught me to sew and I have made several articles of clothing in my time. My only regret is that I didn’t take to it the same way that my younger sister has. There are some things to do with sewing that I tend to avoid just because I am scared to try them it was easier to get mom to do them and now that she’s not here I just skip them or find a pattern that doesn’t require me to do them.

Cooking can be a very touchy subject. I know many ladies that do not know how or enjoy cooking and their families eat out all of the time. I have a very dear friend to me and she doesn’t cook all that well but she makes an effort even though her husband is a chef. I learned to cook for 7 people and when I got married it was an adjustment.

As a young girl, in your teenage years and even in your young adult life there are things that you must learn to do and decisions that you have to make in your spiritual life.

I wouldn’t say that I am the world’s greatest cook but I have learned to cook fairly well and am constantly trying new recipes.

God used my brother to help prepare me for marriage in these areas of my life. He also used sound biblical preaching to ground me in his word. I was convicted and made the decision at a young age to save myself for my husband. To not touch, kiss or have any sort of premarital relations with a man. Those of you who know me know that I had some examples of how not to live my teenage years like no boyfriends, no pre-marital sex, no kids out of wedlock, graduate and go to a bible college for at least a year. By God’s grace I was able to make it to my wedding day pure.

All of these things helped prepare me to be the helpmeet that my husband needs today. I can think of the things from my childhood dreams that came true by serving the Lord and allowing him to work in my life. I have my tall, dark haired, handsome man and to top it off he is also currently a soldier. I got my man in uniform. I love my husband and I know that he loves me.

Ladies when we get married we are designed to be his helpmeet. The lord starts preparing us in our childhood to be the helpmeet that our husbands need. As mothers God uses you to help train your daughter to take care of her husband. We are to love and support him in every area of his life.

Serving the Master,

Diane

Leadership 101: Influence vs. Position

2008-04-21T06:17:00.005-04:00

Every individual is a leader. In many cases, people don't realize this but in every case this is true. Every person that you influence to do good or bad, you have led in a very small way. Of course, those who have the most influence are most often recognized as leaders but the truth is that every person impacts and leads those around them at least a little bit.

Leading those around us is actually something that we ought to desire. Let me explain. We shouldn't necessarily be looking to be in charge of an organization or a committee, but we should be looking to continually be a greater influence for the cause of Christ in everything that we do. We should actively be looking for ways to very subtly leave an impact on those around us to encourage them to do right.

There is a common misconception that leadership is simply being in charge of people. Being in charge of people, however, is not leadership. It is simply management. A leader is someone who can inspire people to follow based on influence; a manager is someone who commands people to follow based on position.

Leadership, simply put, is influence. Consider Adolf Hitler. Hitler influenced his nation to attempt to take over the world. His leadership ability was off the charts and many scholars have suggested that he was one of the strongest leaders of the twentieth century. Few people know that Hitler was actually elected in Germany! Of course, as Christians, we know that he used every ounce of his influence and leadership to further the cause of Satan. I personally speculate that Hitler's leadership was multiplied by an active demonic force in his life that helped him to sway the masses, but then that is a different topic.

With Adolf Hitler in mind, I have often wondered what a sold-ought, passionate Christian could accomplish if he or she would work as hard to bring people closer to God as Hitler worked to eliminate Jews? If Hitler changed the face of human history based on his influence over Germany with the help of Satan or demons, what could a Christian accomplish for Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit?

You may not lead in the same capacity as a man like Adolf Hitler, but you are still a leader. Every day others see your actions, they hear your words and in a small way they are influenced to do either right or wrong. On the Richter Scale of leadership you may not compare to heads of state, but you are still influencing people. You must determine that you will use your influence with your friends, your spouse, your children, your family, and with anyone that you come into contact with to strengthen their relationship with Christ.

Are you developing your leadership skills? Are you using your influence to move people closer to Christ or farther away?

In Christ,

Nick

Free Weekly Give Away! Get Rewarded!

2008-04-20T01:01:00.000-04:00

In an effort to stimulate activity at my website, I have decided to re-initiate a weekly free book giveaway contest. The book that I will be giving away this week is called "How to Pray: The Best of John Wesley on Prayer" by John Wesley. The book is brand new and is completely free to the winner of my newest competition. Entry is free and only takes about thirty seconds. In fact, several of you who are reading this are probably already entered into the drawing!

I want to encourage everyone to get involved. If you are new to The Baptist Muse or if you have been a patron here for a while then right now is the perfect time to jump in and get rewarded. Get your site noticed at our Topsites section and get a chance at a free book!

Product Description: "Let John Wesley guide you into a deeper prayer life. These excerpts from his prolific writings will motivate and challenge you to greater communion with God. In approximately 45 readings, Wesley explains the why and how of prayer for believers at any stage of the Christian life. Lightly edited for ease of reading, Wesley's insights are sure to improve the way you pray!"

Contest Rules: To be eligible for this contest, all you have to do is sign up for The Baptist Muse Topsites. This is a way for you to promote your own blog or website by getting it listed at The Baptist Muse Topsites. I will be receiving email updates of every website that is added to the list and I will be able to closely monitor it to ensure that only doctrinally sound Baptist sites will be added. Listing your website is completely free and you will receive one 'ticket' toward the drawing per website submitted to The Baptist Muse Topsites!

To determine the winner, I will use a random number generator using the total number of participants to set the limits of the generator. I will then begin counting through the members. The first member on the list at the end of this week will be number one. The second member at the end of this week will be number two. Etc. Whatever the number generator spits out at me, that is the winner of the book. If the generator spits out the number 12, then the twelfth person on the list will win the prize. In that way, it will be random among those who participate. I will then announce the winner and contact you to get your mailing address and I will send it right out to you!

The contest ends Saturday at noon. I will calculate the results on Saturday afternoon and announce the winner on Sunday's post. Good luck!

In Christ,

Nick

Are Your Friends a Bad Influence?

2008-04-19T01:01:00.005-04:00

Michael was a 17 year old boy who had ridden a church bus almost every Sunday for several years during his childhood and into his teen years. There were several people who had invested a lot of time and prayer into Michael’s life. At one point during his years of riding the bus, he made a confession of faith. If you talked to Michael, he could tell you about the day that he asked Christ to save him.

During the summer of 2003, I got to know this young man while I was home for summer break from college. He and my brother attended the youth revival at my home church that summer. When I saw them together at the revival meetings, I made the connection that they knew each other. I made a specific effort to invest time and love in my brother and in his friends. I spent a lot of time talking and listening to them trying to lead them closer toward the things of the Lord.

Back to college I went and as far as I knew Michael was still riding the bus. My brother, Brandon, had had enough of the church after the youth revival and had gone back to only occasionally attending church. My brother and Michael continued to influence one another to discontinue living for God. The two of them eventually backslid completely.

I’ll not forget the day that my mom called me at college to tell me that Michael was dead. He had been reported missing a few days before when he didn’t return home to his father’s house. His dad found him a few days later along the side of the road. Michael had been strangled to death and then stabbed over fifty times with a six inch deep knife.

I was saddened and burdened for my bus kids that I had currently in Chicago. Would I be able to make a bigger difference in their lives then I had in Michael’s? Then I thought of a verse that had helped me choose the right kind of friends: “But Amnon had a friend.” ~ 2 Samuel 13:3

Amnon ended up destroying his life and the life's of several people around him as a result of the influence of a bad friend. Michael was a boy that had attended church and knew right from wrong and yet he made the wrong choice. He decided to let his friends in the world lead him away from the things of God. Michael chose the wrong friends. He allowed his friends to influence him into a life that was sinful.

You may have friends that are Christians and you may think that you have nothing to worry about. You go to the same church, your parents have the same standards, you are all saved and the list can go on. These friends can lead you astray or may lead you in a direction that is not pleasing to the Lord. You are not exempt from peer pressure no matter how old you are.

“You are right now or soon shall be exactly what your friends are!”

The decision to do right and live for the Lord isn’t easy and you may not have a lot of friends when you are done. You may even have to cut off someone that was near and dear to you when you see them heading into a life of sin. I speak from experience when I say that it’s not easy to break off a friendship. However you will have a testimony of someone who loved and served the Lord instead of being known as someone who was once on fire and allowed the wrong friends to lead them astray. You have a decision that you have to make. Are you going to be like you friends that are doing wrong or are you going to live for the Lord?

Serving the Master,

Diane

4 Useful Things You Could Do Tomorrow

2008-04-18T08:50:00.000-04:00

Let's face it, there are a lot of things that each of us could do to increase our productivity and maximize our effectiveness for Christ, for our spouses, and for our employers. The following are four very practical and useful things that could be done to help us accomplish those goals.

1. Get Up Earlier

Truth be told, it wouldn't hurt you to wake up a few minutes earlier. Of course, this might mean going to bed a few minutes earlier but that would probably be good for you as well. Benjamin Franklin was onto something when he said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!"

It is pretty much a given that you will be able to focus on something more meaningful during the early morning hours than during the late evening. You can spend the extra time on whatever pursuit that you see fit. You can spend more time praying or maybe get in a little extra Bible reading. Perhaps you could spend some extra time talking to your spouse or to someone you love. Whatever you choose, you won't go wrong waking up an extra fifteen minutes earlier than usual.

2. Work Out for a Few Minutes

You could even use you extra time in the morning to do a few exercises. I know that sounds horrible, but there isn't one of us that couldn't use a few extra jumping jacks, crunches, or a short walk or jog on the treadmill or around the block. It doesn't matter if you are male or female, young or old. Everyone could use a little exercise.

You will feel much better throughout the day. In fact, you will probably feel energized as you set about to accomplish your tasks throughout the day. Also if you are on a diet, this is the best thing to go along with it.

3. Start Your Day With A Prioritized To-Do List

You will absolutely be surprised at how much more productive you can be when you have your daily goals and objectives visualized in the form of a written list. It will help you not forget what you have to accomplish and it will motivate you as you are able to check each item off of your list.

4. Organize Your Work Space

Whether you work at in a corporate environment or at home schooling and handful of children, you will find things much easier when they are organized. Take some extra time and straighten your desk, clean your class area, organize your laundry room, or clean out your car! I got a few of you on that last one, huh? Working in a clean and organized environment will transform your perspective on your work. You will be surprised how it will help you to get more done.

Tonight while you are setting your alarm, think about which of these ideas you can practice tomorrow. Think about what you want to accomplish and remember that these four steps will help you get them done.

In Christ,

Nick

The Winner of the Tax Time Giveaway

2008-04-16T07:40:00.001-04:00

Last week, I announced a contest that would run until Tuesday, April 15...Yesterday! That contest is now officially over and I am very excited to announce our two winners. One of these winners has been chosen because they earned the most points in our contest and the other winner was chosen randomly using each point earned as a chance to win. Our two recipients will be the proud owners of a ten-dollar gift certificate to any store of their choice!

I am very pleased to announce that the individual with the most points and the winner of our first gift certificate is Sis. Tori all the way across the globe working with and supporting her husband as missionaries in Croatia. The second winner whose name was drawn at random using each of their points as a ticket in a drawing is Bro. Tim who is now pastoring in Johnstown Baptist Church in Lake Butler, Florida. Congratulations to our two winners.

To receive your gift certificate, either email me or use the contact form on the contact page to let me know a mailing address where I can mail your gift certificate. Be sure to include what store you would like your gift certificate to be from. I will mail these out just as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone for playing! We'll try to roll some more contests out soon.

In Christ,

Nick

Something Special for the One You Love

2008-04-15T01:30:00.000-04:00

Are there ever days when you want to do something little and sweet for your spouse but you just don’t know what to do? I know that I’ve not been married all that long. It will be three years next month but there have been days that I wanted to do something special for my husband but I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I go out and buy a gift, should I do a candy gram, should I hide from him when he is coming in the door after a long day at work and the list could go on. There are several things that you can do for your spouse. It doesn’t always have to be something that the wife does for the husband. You husbands can do something for you wife as well!

Shortly after my husband and I were married we received this list in the young couples Sunday school class. I have done some of these things and they are really quite simple and a lot of fun. I hope that this list will give you some ideas to try and maybe you have already done some of these already.

I have my favorite picture of my husband that is inside the front cover of my Bible. It is not a serious picture of him, but rather one where he is being goofy. I took the picture while we were driving in the car on the way home from my in-laws house and he was making a silly face and shrugging his shoulders with his arms in the air. Every time I open my Bible and look at that picture I am reminded of how much we love each other.

Verbally compliment your spouse habitually, in private and in public.
Hide little gifts and small love tokens around the house for your spouse.
Write a special love note and put it in a place that it is sure to be found.
Take your wife out to eat at a restaurant and sit next to her in the booth.
Plan a surprise picnic for your husband, and remember to invite him.
Surprise your wife by doing some of the housework without her asking.
Plan a special weekend outing for just the two of you, without and kids.
Arrange a mystery date night at a location that your spouse will enjoy.
Create a candlelight dinner for two and make it an extra special evening.
Invite your wife out for lunch at a respectable, amorous restaurant.
Telephone your wife during the day and tell her how much you love her.
Think of a special term of endearment to call your wife and use it wisely.
Pack a special love not in your husbands lunch box or briefcase.
Give your wife some spending money and let her go out with her friends.
Watch the kids for your wife and let her have a whole day to shop.
Ask your wife to go for a late afternoon walk and hold her hand.
Put on a special smile when your wife enters your workplace or office.
Make sure to display a picture of your wife at the office or workplace.
Keep a picture of your wife in your Bible, and your wallet at all times.
Go to games, functions, and social outings whenever the schedule permits.

For all of you that are married or plan on being married someday if the Lord allows. Keep these ideas in mind as you go through your marriage.

Serving the Master,

Diane Cardot

I Got My Roadmap! Do You?

2008-04-14T01:25:00.002-04:00

Have you ever gone on vacation without the roadmap? Drives you nuts in short order, doesn’t it? You stop at the first gas station and pick one up and whoever is sitting in the navigator’s seat gets to studiously mark out the route. Or if you are lucky enough to have one of the newer vehicles equipped with navigation tools would you consider leaving home without having it hooked up ready to go? Probably not!

I recall a weekend road trip that a friend and I took during college. On Thursday after noon, we left when class dismissed in Lexington, KY with the intention of driving shifts through the night until we arrived early morning at our destination in Letts, IA. We planned to take Interstate 74 through central IL all the way into IA. Too easy.

Because I had made the trip several times before (my girlfriend lived there at the time), I didn't think that I needed to take a roadmap. Yet sure enough, around two or three in the morning we began seeing signs for Chicago. "Chicago: 50 Miles"

I don't remember which of us was driving, but it didn't matter. We had taken a wrong turn somewhere and were now about a hundred miles off course. Although I am from Northern Illinois, I was not familiar with the road we were on and had no idea where to go to 'course correct.'

After realizing our mistake, we exited the interstate at the next available off-ramp and stopped at a gas station. We had need of only one thing: a roadmap! Amazingly we had no other navigation issues for the rest of our trip.

I learned an important lesson that night. Beyond the obvious 'always keep a map under my car seat' which is now my common practice whenever I go on long trips, I learned that without a roadmap it is nearly impossible to arrive at your intended destination when traveling in unfamiliar territory.

You guessed it. I'm not talking about road trips anymore. I'm talking about life in general. If ever there was a better analogy for life, I've yet to find it. Life is a journey through the most unfamiliar roads and terrain that you can imagine. You will experience wrong turns, get lost, and find yourself wishing that you had brought along a roadmap.

Simply put, our roadmap is the Word of God. God's Powerful Scriptures, or GPS, is a tool far older and more accurate than any technological marvel of today. It is the Word of God that can accurately direct us toward the perfect center of God's Will. It is the Word of God that can teach us to serve Him in ways that are pleasing to Him. It is the Word of God that will teach us in every area of our life.

It is the Word of God that can bring revival to America. It was the Word of God that presidents once looked to as the roadmap of National Policy. It was the Word of God that was once used as textbooks in public schools. It was the Word of God!

In Christ,

Nick

A Lesson in Old-Fashioned American Patriotism

2008-04-12T15:32:00.005-04:00

I once heard a preacher tell of an incident that he lived through as a child. His father was a veteran of World War II. In fact, his father had been forced to endure the Baton Death March and was held prisoner by the Japanese for a long period of time.

One day when our preacher friend was about ten years old, he and his father went to enjoy the great American past-time. They went to watch a baseball game. As the game was gearing up to begin, the announcer came online and introduced the singer who would be performing the national anthem. As the singer moved toward the microphone, the crowd stood to honor the flag and the anthem. The entire crowd took to their feet except for a few small groups of disrespectful people...

A small group of men who were seated directly in front of our preacher and his father, continued goofing and carrying on as before. As the anthem sounded throughout the stadium, these men refused to show any signs of respect or courtesy.

The preacher's father was immediately irate! He curled both hands into fists and with all of his strength he punched two of the men right in front of him in the back of the head. It knocked them down. Before they could even begin to stand back up, he quickly returned to the position of attention and placed his hand back over his heart.

The young boy was terrified. As soon as these guys stand back up, his father was going to be beaten by these men. When the men stood up, however, they looked at his father with his hand over his heart and immediately stood up tall and placed their hands over their own hearts. Several men seated nearby followed suit.

After the ball game the young boy asked his father, "Dad. I thought for sure that when you hit those men that they were going to beat you up! Why did you do that dad? It was really dangerous."

"Son," he replied, "I traveled half-way around this world and fought for that flag, watched my buddies get killed for that flag, and I stood ready to die for that flag. I may not be on the other side of the world, but my opinion of that flag hasn't changed one bit!"

At work on Friday morning, another soldier showed me the following video. Just as in the story above, this is another great example of Old-Fashioned American Patriotism! I applaud the man in this video and I hope that everyone in America takes a lesson from him. Don't ever be afraid to stand up for America!

In Christ,

Nick

How to Deal With Life's Malfunctions

2008-04-11T21:04:00.000-04:00

On July 16, 2007 I stepped out the door of an in-flight airplane for the first time in my life. As soon as the status light turned green and I launched myself out the rear side door of the plane, I knew that I had entered into an adventure both exciting and scary. I felt the rush of two-hundred mile-per-hour winds pushing against my body sending me twisting and turning through the air.

My first jump was my worst. I had a poor body position on my first exit which resulted in a parachute malfunction. Although my parachute deployed, my lines were twisted and the canopy wasn't fully expanded. I was headed toward the ground faster than the soldiers around me.

My first thought was that I was going to die on my first jump. That thought quickly disappeared, however, as my training kicked in. I remembered being drilled and prepped repeatedly for this moment. Since day one, we had studied corrective procedures for partial and full malfunctions. This was only a minor malfunction. I knew what to do to save myself from injury. This was nothing that I couldn't handle. It was nothing that I had not been equipped to deal with.

I twisted my legs and pulled apart on the risers. I kicked and spun and after about ten seconds my parachute was fully deployed. As lightweight as I was, I began to descend much slower than my fellow soldiers and was actually one of the last to land. The rest of my jumps have all been smooth rides and soft landings.

I learned an important lesson at airborne school. The Army puts a lot of effort into making sure that soldiers are equipped and trained to deal with the hazards that they face. More than that, God will never allow us to enter into a situation that He will not enable and equip us to deal with successfully.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. ~ I Corinthians 10:13

He won't ask you to jump out of an airplane until He has trained and equipped you to land successfully. He has given us his Word for training. His has given us a church for fellowship with godly friends. He really has given us everything that we need to be a successful Christian.

There is no way that we can place the blame for our failures on Christ. He has provided us with everything, including access to God himself, so that we can do what is right, accomplish God's will, stand true in the face of persecution, reach souls for Christ, and stay pure in a world of filth.

The next time you face a difficulty and you have trouble figuring out how to move forward, stop for a moment and remember your training. Remember the scripture passages that you have the taken the time to remember. Remember the sermon truths that you have learned over the years. Remember the lessons that you have learned from the Word of God and take control of the situation. Face your difficulty head on and with a strong reliance on God, tackle it!

In Christ,

Nick

The Causes of the 'Great Recession'

2008-04-10T06:20:00.004-04:00

Recently in the news there has been a lot of talk about the 'recession' that America is entering into. In fact, a British news agency has referred to America as entering into another 'great depression.' The housing market has crashed and foreclosures are at an all time high. The financial markets have crashed. The price of oil and gasoline has been skyrocketing and the 'experts' are predicting that it will continue in that direction. Inflation is racing forward as the price of milk, wheat, and other staple items continue to rise.

Then the fingers are pointed. Democrats point to the policies of president Bush. Republicans point to the fact that the Democrats have controlled congress and should have legislated a solution to this long before now. The media blames the banks and the mortgage brokers calling them names like 'predators' and 'sharks.' Some have even blamed the media claiming that their announcement of a recession has created a self-fulfilling prophecy. People hear in the news of a recession so they spend less money to prepare. Since they spent less money the economy becomes stagnant.

In a small sense, every person listed deserves a small portion of the blame. The banks made poor decisions in able to sell their loans. The media beat this recession into our heads because the sound of that word sent their ratings a fraction higher. Democrats in the congress have actually been putting pressure on the financial industry to make more loans to lower income families so that they can own their own homes. That sounded noble until you realize that a huge portion of the foreclosure market is comprised of lower income families who would not have been approved for a loan five or ten years ago. They weren't done a favor by being granted a loan that they could not afford. Their blame, however, is only deserved in a very small way.

Nobody seems to blame the individual Americans whose houses are being foreclosed. No one wants to point the finger back at their own irresponsibility. Recently in the news they announced that a large percentage of Americans feel like they have less money than they had five years ago. The report went on to claim that a majority of Americans feel like they have more debt and less money saved than they did five years ago. Yet not one person wants to point to the poor savings and budgeting habits of the American people. In fact, they were using these statistics to point to the idea that America needs more legislation and better government policies to curb this negative trend from moving forward.

We truly do live in a welfare generation. We have developed a society that believes that they deserve to have more than they have and that it is the governments responsibility to make it happen. I watch every day as the people around me who make far more than I do spend all of their money, complain about the banks and credit card companies charging them fees for spending too much or for paying a bill too late, and go looking for added government hand-outs! We laugh at our grandparents and call them 'old fogeys' when they talk about their experiences through the great depression and in so doing we dismiss decades of wisdom.

As I write this article, I think of my personal financial situation. I have thousands more today than I had five years ago and I would be considered lower income. I have almost no debt and I have money in savings. I make far less than many whose lives are in ruin and I live in an area where the cost of living is extremely high, Washington D.C.

What America needs is a revival in the concept of personal responsibility. I realized a long time ago that I wasn't going to be a success financially by relying on the mandates of Congress, the generosity of a bank, a policy of the president, or by the good fortune of the stock market. I learned early the truth of hard work, saving money, budgeting, carefully and conservatively investing what you have saved, and a few other tricks that our modern generation seems to have forgotten.

In Christ,

Nick

Joyfully Caring For God's Children

2008-04-09T06:53:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago there were revival meetings going on at our church in Alexandria VA. Evangelist Dwight Smith was preaching. During the week several different ladies were scheduled to be in nursery. On Thursday night, one of the ladies that was scheduled said that she would rather not be in the nursery. I volunteered to take her spot since I love being in the nursery as it is my desire to have children someday.

The lady that I volunteered to do nursery for looked at me like I had lost my mind. When I told her that I loved being around kids and being in the nursery, she still looked at me like I was crazy. This is an area that God has allowed me to be in since I was a young child. It is a very important ministry to the mom’s in the local church.

That lady ended up doing nursery that night. I was also still in the nursery because they needed extra help and the ladies in charge of our church nursery had already taken turns and been in there during the revival meetings. While I was playing with the kids the lady was observing my interaction with them and she said “Wow! You really do enjoy being around kids and being in the nursery”.

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”
~ Colossians 3:23

I started working in the nursery at a young age with my pastor’s daughter, Kristi, who was just a bit younger than me. At my home church the mid week service is on Thursday evenings. For all of you mom’s out there before you have a heart attack that we were in the nursery when we were young, you must realize that most of the kids who were in the nursery during the midweek service at that time were our siblings and for a few years we rotated the mid week service every other week with my pastor’s wife.

I can remember only one accident that has occurred the whole time that I have been in the nursery and that was with my little sister, Sarah. She was probably 2 or 3 years old and the kids in the nursery were running around just like they do every service. As they rounded the corner to make another lap around the room Sarah fell. I don’t remember her crying but I do remember walking over to her and picking her up. When I lifted her into my arms I looked at her chin and noticed that it was split open. Very calmly I walked over and got a paper towel, held it to her chin and sent Kristi to go get my mom. Sarah ended up with stitches in her chin.

I can see your faces… some of you ladies are about to have a heart attack at the thought of your child getting hurt while not under your care. The questions and fingers of blame are running through your head. It’s their fault, they weren’t paying enough attention. Ladies with kids, accidents happen whether you are the one with them or not. I have a brother that fell down the basement stairs while my mom was home and watching him. Of course, with as many brothers as I have (twelve) that was probably impossible for that not to have happened eventually!

Ladies you may not enjoy being in the nursery or even want to be in there at all. You never know what the Lord is going to do in the service or what kind of stress the mother of a child is under. Working in the nursery and striving to provide a safe, clean environment for children during a service allows a mother to attend the service and allows the Holy Spirit to work in her life without her worrying about her child making noise and disrupting the service.

Don’t be afraid of the nursery. Don’t be afraid of the children. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Just jump right in and do your best for the children and for the parents!

Faithfully Serving,

Diane Cardot

*****

Author Info: Diane Cardot a godly army wife. She is a wonderful, supportive, and loving person and I am privileged each day to be able to call her my wife.

Tax Relief At The Baptist Muse

2008-04-08T02:00:00.000-04:00

Tax time is upon us. Here at The Baptist Muse, I understand the financial crunch that tax time imposes on our lives. That is exactly why I have decided to offer a little bit of green to the winner of my newest contest. In fact, I am going to give a ten dollar gift certificate to the store of your choosing to two different winners on Tuesday, April 15, 2008. You can consider that to be tax relief at the Baptist Muse.

All right, here’s the rules. I will select two winners. One winner will be the individual who has accumulated the most raw points. So if you can earn 50 points and the next guy only has 40…you are ten dollars richer. The second winner will be drawn at random, using each point as a ticket in a drawing. If you have fifty tickets, you will have fifty chances to win while the next guy in our example with forty points will only have forty chances to win.

Grab As Many Points As You Can…And Here’s How

Leave Comments: 1 Point – Leave up to five comments per post and you receive one point per comment up to five. Spam comments don’t count.

Forum Posts: 1 Point – Every comment posted in the Forum section of our site is worth one point! There is no limit! Go hog wild. Spam comments don’t count.

Email Subscriptions: 5 points – If you have never signed up for the free email newsletter, there has never been a better time to join! If you are already signed up on my email list, you already have five points in this contest.

Write a Review of the Baptist Muse: 15-25 Points (150-250 Words) If you write and post a review of The Baptist Muse at your website or blog, you will receive an instant 15-25 points. The minimum is 150 words which is worth 15 points. Every ten words over that and you will receive and additional point up to 25 points. Leave a comment here so that I will know to swing by your site and check it out!

Good luck and happy blogging!

In Christ,

Nick

The Testimony of a Praying Wife

2008-04-07T02:00:00.001-04:00

This is a precious promise from the Lord, and one that is personal to me, as I claimed the verse for my husband"s salvation.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." ~ Psalm 37:4

Let me start my story from the beginning of my relationship with Jim. I was sixteen years old, attended church, and participated in my youth group, having been saved at the age of nine at church camp. Although I went to church and enjoyed the company of my friends there, I was still very much a baby Christian.

Jim was eighteen and had graduated high school the year before in a nearby town. I knew he was unsaved, but I thought he probably would get saved soon. He attended church with me once or twice, but soon I stopped attending myself. I preferred to have my time free to spend with Jim. We married two days after my nineteenth birthday. From that time I determined to be a "good" wife and although I was not living for the Lord, He blessed us with three beautiful children. I did pray and occasionally read my Bible. I was not consistent enough to allow the Lord to speak to my heart though.

In 1988, my oldest son Chad was ten years old and began riding a church bus to King's Kids at my former church. One night he came home and told me he had been saved! I began to cry, both from happiness and also from conviction for not raising my kids in church. It took about six months, but eventually I rededicated my life to the LORD Jesus Christ. I vowed to live for Him and to raise my children for Him.

When I shared this with Jim, he was less than enthusiastic. He said I would not be allowed to force our children to attend church. (He had been forced to attend Catholic services as a child.)

The Lord worked this out so that my two younger children, Jared and Leah got saved within the year. Leah later received assurance of her salvation, having only been 3½ at the time of her original decision. I never had to force any of them to attend church. They wanted to go!
For many years the children and I prayed for Jim's salvation. The Lord provided many miracles, including Jim allowing the children to attend Christian school for a time and Chad being allowed to go to Bible College at Fairhaven Baptist College in Chesterton Indiana.

During Chad's freshman year, 1996, we visited the college several times. On October 6, 1996, we attended the morning service because of a promotion for a family portrait. During the invitation at the end of the service, Chad asked Jim if he was ready to be saved. Jim went forward and was met by a man in the church who took him to a private place. We all prayed and waited. Jim got saved! After 25 years of our relationship! We never did get that family portrait. We got something much better..... A Christian family!

On May 9, 1998, our family was blessed by a new addition. My thirteen year old nephew, Nick, came to live with us. I had always wanted another child. Another desire of my heart met by God's Grace! This would have been impossible before Jim's salvation, but God's timing is always perfect!

If you are a Christian with an unsaved spouse, do not give up! God does indeed keep His promises!

"Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" ~ Ephesians 3:20 & 21

Serving the King,

Janelle Delhotal

*****

Author Info: Janelle Delhotal is the aunt of Nicholas Cardot, the founder and author of the Baptist Muse. He is the one mentioned in the story who came to live with them in 1998.

A Sunday Morning Surprise

2008-04-06T14:50:00.002-04:00

This morning when I arrived at church, one of my friends approached me and asked if I could teach the Sunday School lesson for the teenagers. "Of Course!" I replied and I reached down into my Bible for my notes from this week's "A Tale of Two Kings" lessons that I have been posting here at the blog. They weren't there. Before I left for church, I had cleaned out all of the excess papers from my Bible.

"Oh, well!" I thought. I'll just teach the lesson from memory. And so I did. A couple of times, I stumbled looking for the exact verse, but the teenagers actually helped out and worked with me. The lesson went great and the teenagers paid attention really well.

One of the reasons that I maintain this blog is because I am not always able to preach as often as I would like. By reading, studying, and writing articles for The Baptist Muse, I am forced to stay on my toes in this area. I am able to preach through writing and I am able to exercise my preparation skills. Then, when preaching opportunities arise, I am able to step up to the plate and give it my all.

Let me turn this brief testimony into a little challenge. What are you doing to sharpen your skills in the areas that God has called you into?

In Christ,

Nick

The Sunday Funnies

2008-04-06T02:00:00.001-04:00

This post is a collection of a few of the things that had me laughing this week. I hope they bring a little bit of joy to each of you as well. Happy Sunday!

Shards O' Glass Popsicles

The Nobel Peace Pies!

Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds."

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8. Don t use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance , Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

Add your own. :)

First-Rate Christian Wallpaper

2008-04-05T12:09:00.000-04:00

This page is a collection of christian wallpapers that I have been and am continuing to collect from around the internet. I am contantly looking for more images to add to the collection so please email me any pictures that I could add to this collection. Thank you in advance.

Storybook Love

2008-04-04T23:25:00.005-04:00

This is an image I made from a photograph of my wife. Isn't she beautiful?

A Tale of Two Kings: David's Response

2008-04-04T23:05:00.004-04:00

Hello and welcome back to day three of our adventure through the lives of King Saul and King David. This is part three in a four part series entitled “A Tale of Two Kings.” Lord willing, I will be posting the fourth and final installment of this lesson on Monday. If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you read the first two posts so that you can gain a greater understanding of what we are discussing today:

Day One: ”A Tale of Two Kings: The Preacher’s Rebuke”
Day Two: “A Tale of Two Kings: Saul’s Personal Response”

Finally, before we begin, I invite you to read through the passage of scripture that today’s lesson is built on: Psalm 51.

On day one, we looked at the rebuke that the prophet Samuel and the prophet Nathan brought to their respective kings. We realized during that lesson that their rebuke was both personal, it was tailored specifically to their recipients, and prophetic, it was brought as an envoy on behalf of God. On day two, we looked at Saul’s personal response to Samuel’s rebuke. We looked at each of the four ways that Saul rejected Samuel’s advice. He deferred the blame, denied the blame, described the blame, and defied the blame. Never once, however, did he repent or show remorse for his sin.

On day three, today, we are going to look at David’s personal response to Nathan’s rebuke. It won’t take long to realize that this response is a stark contrast to what we saw in Saul’s life. David went through four phases in his response to Nathan. Let’s take a look.

David Acknowledged His Sin

“For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” Psalm 51:3

Unlike Saul, David didn’t play the denial card. He immediately admitted that he had done wrong against God. They say that the first step to overcoming is admitting that you have a problem. David had no problem admitting his wrong-doing.

Perhaps during the year that he waited for Nathan’s rebuke, the tender voice of God had been speaking to David’s heart about repenting. Then when Nathan spoke to David, it was the straw on the camel’s back. He just broke down and confessed his sin.

David Accepted the Guilt

“Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” Psalm 51:2-4

Recently in the news, I read of a man who had attacked, sexually assaulted, raped, and murdered his young neighbor girl. During the interrogation process, he admitted to all of it. He spoke of the bizarre fantasies that he had wanted to fulfill including cannibalism. Disgusting! During the interview, he explained that he had developed these fantasies as a result of abuse he had received from his parents and because of the rejection that he had experienced at school. He claimed that his disgusting, wicked actions were to be blamed on someone else: his parents and his school friends.

Men and woman have been passing the buck since the beginning of time. Adam tried to pass the blame onto Eve. Saul tried to defer the guilt onto his followers. Even you try to pass the blame onto other people for most of what you do. They just make me so mad. No! They don’t make you sin. That is a result of your own lack of spiritual and emotional discipline. Let’s not stray, however, too far from our feature presentation, the life of King David.

David didn’t follow the path of our psychotic, cannibalistic friend, of Adam, of Saul, or of you! He stepped up to the plate and boldly placed the blame on his own front door. He acknowledged that he had done wrong and he admitted that the guilt belonged to no one except himself.

David Asked For Forgiveness

“Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Psalm 51:11-12

Once David realized and admitted how sinful he was, he wasn’t satisfied until he had begged God to restore to him the relationship that they once knew. He desired passionately to be reunited with Christ in fellowship as intimate friends. Perhaps this is why the Scriptures later refer to David as ‘A man after God’s own heart.’ That title may be linked to the passion in which David sought after God’s heart.

David Actually Repented

“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

The greatest thing that David had going for him was the fact that he genuinely repented. According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, “Repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God.” David whole-heartedly turned from his sin and back toward the heart of God. His entire heart and mind were together in sorrow for his sinful past. He was a broken man.

As you can see, David’s responses were extremely different from Saul’s. Saul’s answers were filled with pride and more sin. David’s answers were filled with humility, brokenness, and a desire to be restored to God.

What is your response to your sin? When the preacher mentions your sin from the pulpit, do you cringe and get angry like Saul or are you moved to draw closer to God?

In Christ,

Nick

He Hangeth the Earth Upon Nothing

2008-04-03T22:54:00.002-04:00

Recently, I have been experimenting with Adobe Photoshop. This is the first desktop wallpaper that I have created. I hope to be adding some more very soon. Let me know what you think!

A Tale of Two Kings: Saul's Personal Response

2008-04-03T06:35:00.005-04:00

Hello and welcome back to day two of our adventure through the lives of King Saul and King David. This is part two in a four part series entitled “A Tale of Two Kings.” If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you read the first post, "A Tale of Two Kings: The Preacher’s Rebuke”, so that you can gain a greater understanding of what we are discussing today. Finally, before we begin, I invite you to read through this brief passage of scripture that today’s lesson is built on: I Samuel 15:15-30.

In yesterday’s lesson, we saw the great sin of these two men and we began to dive into the events that followed their respective wrongdoings. The first thing that we looked at was ‘The Preacher’s Rebuke.’ We took note that it was a ‘Personal Rebuke’ designed specifically for Saul and David and that it was a ‘Prophetic Rebuke’ in that is was brought to these men on behalf of God.

It is important that we jump in and try to understand each man’s personal response. King Saul and King David responded to their rebuke in entirely different ways. One man was humble and contrite; the other was proud and arrogant. One man was repentant; the other wasn’t even remorseful. These varying responses are the very key to understanding why God chose to deal with them in such unique ways. Their responses were polar opposites, and ultimately, so were the results. Today we will discuss King Saul's response and tomorrow we will discuss King David's.

Let’s begin by looking at Saul’s reaction. When Samuel presented his rebuke to the king, Saul responded in four ways.

King Saul Deferred the Blame.

“And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen...But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen...” I Samuel 15:15,21

At this point in our story, Saul makes it obvious that he must have learned at the feet of the famed Psychologist, Dr. Freud. He juggles through his mind thinking of his parents, of his friends, of Samuel, and finally settles the blame on the people. His sin is their fault…not his.

Saul's first response is a shocking revelation of his true character, or lack thereof. Rather than manning-up and accepting the responsibility for his actions, he tries to defer the blame to the people around him. He blames his followers for saving the animals, he blames them for taking the spoils of war, and ultimately he blames them for his sinful rebellion. It must not have occurred to him that if this strategy hadn't worked for Adam, it wasn't going to work for him!

This was Saul's first response: Blame someone else!

King Saul Denied the Blame

“And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” I Samuel 15:20

While King Saul had been enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous, he must have relapsed and been out drinking on the night they taught the principle that ‘the first step to overcoming a problem is to admit that you have a problem.’

After Saul realized that shifting the blame wasn't holding any weight in Samuel's eyes, he shifted gears and entered into outright denial. “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord!” I can hear him angrily shouting back at the prophet. In his eyes and in his logic, he did nothing wrong and nobody, not even the prophet of God, was going to tell him otherwise. He would not stand to be corrected by the facts, by the evidence, or by God himself!

This was Saul's second response: Deny! Deny! Deny!

King Saul Described the Blame

“And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” I Samuel 15:24

When Saul was a young boy, if he had ever wronged his sister, his parents would make him stand in front of her and apologize. He would hang his head down and stare at his shoes, but realizing that this was his only way of escape, he would finally blurt out, “I’m sorry.” His sister would cross her arms and with all the audacity in the world she would ask, “Did you mean that?” Of course, he didn’t mean it. He just wanted to get the embarrassing situation over with so that he could get back to playing with his Lincoln Logs…err, his Moses Logs.

At this point in our story, Saul is dangerously close to getting right with God. Samuel has finally beaten him back into a corner and Saul is forced to admit that he had failed to obey God's command. Of course, this confession only came after Samuel announced that Saul would lose his kingdom, but let's keep on topic. Saul finally confessed and announced his guilt but he failed in one major area. He remembered the strategy that he had used on his sister so many times as a child and forgot, if I may sarcastically use that word, to actually repent!

This was Saul's third response: Confession without repentance!

King Saul Defied the Blame

“Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.” I Samuel 15:30

After Samuel's brow beating Saul with God's message, Saul was finally backed into the corner. He admitted his sin. But instead of lowering his head in shame and in humility and making things right, he cocked his head back defiantly. He looked at Samuel and in his pride, he commanded him to recognize him before the elders and the people. He may have done wrong, but nobody else was going to know about it.

This was Saul's fourth and final response: Ignoring his Conscience!

The principle that we need to remain focused on is this: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So let me put it to you this way: will you learn from Saul's poor example or will you repeat it?

In Christ,

Nick

A Tale of Two Kings: The Preacher's Rebuke

2008-04-02T01:01:00.006-04:00

Hello and welcome to the first in a three part series entitled “A Tale of Two Kings.” Throughout this series, we will be diving into the amazing lessons learned from the lives of King David and King Saul. I invite you to read two brief passages of scripture before delving into today’s lesson: I Samuel 15:1-15 and II Samuel 12:1-7.

The lives of King Saul and King David were scarred with major sin. Their lives tell the story of tragedy and despair. They both fell hard, slamming themselves against the laws of God and committing disgusting wickedness.

Saul’s sin was disobedience. God had directed Saul to destroy the Amalekites and leave nothing remaining. Not a sheep, a cow, or a piece of gold was to be saved. Saul decided, however, to destroy only the garbage from the sacked city. He kept the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen. He had directly rejected God’s command clearly placing convenience above that of obedient character. This was Saul’s sin.

David’s sin was arguably much worse. He began his rebellion by having an adulterous affair with a neighbor lady named Bathsheba. He then moved on to murder her husband to cover his tracks, and then brushed it under the rug for nearly a year. David’s sin was far worse than that of Saul.

It becomes clear from the scripture, however, that the ultimate, long-term fate of these two men was not molded by the sin they committed but rather, by their actions following their wicked misdeeds. After their fall from grace, these men followed two unique paths which would eventually determine if they lived or died.

It is important that we first take notice of the Preacher’s Rebuke. There are three distinct phases that these men journeyed through after their sinful rebellion, and this was the first. The Preacher’s Rebuke!

It Was a Personal Rebuke

When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience, he didn’t speak in vague generalities and he didn’t beat around the bush. He specifically mentioned Saul’s sin. He made it personal.

When Saul returned from his conquest, he was all smiles. He had just enjoyed a huge military victory and had gained a lot of gold, silver, sheep, and oxen. He was so excited. His adrenaline was pumping. That is, of course, until Samuel interrupted with his timeless rhetorical question, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” (I Sam. 15:14) Apparently Saul’s mother had never told him the story of Achan.

This same principle was true in David’s situation. When Nathan stood before David, he began by telling him a parable: A rich man owned many sheep and cattle. A poor man owned only one small lamb. In fact, the poor man’s one sheep was treated like family and ate with them and was more of a pet than a piece of livestock. One afternoon, the wealthy man had a visitor and rather than go all the way to his fields to fetch a sheep for a meal, he stole the lamb from his lower class neighbor.

David was outraged and immediately proclaimed, ”As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die!” (II Sam. 12:5).

Suddenly Nathan makes it personal. You can almost see his bony finger pointing up at David as he says, “Thou art the man!”

Too often we find ourselves getting upset at something that the preacher says to us. ‘That’s none of your business, preacher. That’s personal!’ We fail to realize that these men of God are only following the Scriptural pattern laid out for them by these two prophets, Samuel and Nathan. Get over yourselves, friends. Take the rebuke at face value. Accept it. Repent.

It Was a Prophetic Rebuke

“Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel…” I Sam. 15:10
“And the LORD sent Nathan unto David…” ~ II Sam. 12:1

A prophet was simply someone who presented a message on behalf of God. Neither Samuel nor Nathan had any personal interest in seeing these men reconciled to God. They didn’t speak out against their respective kings because of self-interest or pride. They weren’t trying to make themselves look better than their audiences. They were simply relaying a message that they had been commanded to preach.

When Saul and David accepted or rejected their rebuke, they were not answering the prophet. They were answering God!

Go ahead, friends. Get offended at something that the preacher says. Get upset that he would preach against the way that you dress or the music that you listen to. Get angry that he would mention a part of your sinful lifestyle. How dare he mention your rebellion or sinfulness during one of his sermons?

But before you do, take a lesson from the two men in our story. You’re not rejecting your preacher…you are rejecting the tender call of God's mercy! Be careful where you tread.

In Christ,

Nick

The Book Club: April's Update

2008-04-01T10:23:00.005-04:00

I am really excited that my husband has asked me to take over the reigns of the book club here at the Baptist Muse. I love to read and can't wait to get into this month's book.

The Book Club is located at the forum portion of the website. Last month we started the book club by reading "By Duty Bound" by Ezell Ware Jr. This was an excellent book dealing with two men who were enemies because of their race but then shot down over Vietnam and left alone stranded for three weeks they became brothers.

The Book Club is a place for Christians to encourage one another to read and discuss books. Each month a different book will be chosen and we will work to stimulate our discussion and learning. The books will be chosen by the users of this site through a very simple process that will allow everyone to participate. To read about that process, click here.

The book for April is "Because They Hate" by Brigitte Gabriel. We would like to thank Kate Plourde for recommending this book. Each month there will be a discussion board opened where we all can discuss the book as we are reading it. To participate in the discussion, click here.

In an effort to whet your appetite, let me give some more information about this month's book:

“Brigitte Gabriel eloquently reminds America what is truly at stake in this struggle against terrorism: our families, our way of life, and our hopes. Ms. Gabriel's personal account of her own experience is riveting, compelling and spellbinding. This is a must read for the entire American public . . . Because They Hate contains monumental revelations that will shock and disturb you. But it is also a story of an indomitable spirit--Brigitte's-- that will move you.”

--Steve Emerson, author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Amongst Us, Executive Director, the Investigative Project on Terrorism

We are looking forward to having as many of your participate as would like to.

Best Wishes,

Diane

Are You Predictable?

2008-03-30T13:36:00.007-04:00

Saturday Morning Link Love: Updated!

2008-03-29T11:22:00.007-04:00

Updated With The Newest Sermons!

Throughout this past week, I have been blessed to enjoy revival meetings being preached by a man named Dwight Smith. Our meetings began this past Sunday and will be concluding tomorrow. Each night had a different theme. Monday was ladies night. All of the ladies had to bring visitors. Tuesday was Men's night. Wednesday was Sunday School night. The goal was to bring as many people from your Sunday school class as possible to the service. The person with the highest percentage was the winner. Thursday night was coworkers night and last night was youth night. The teenagers brought the visitors. We also had a gym night after the service that lasted until midnight. We played basketball, volleyball, and some made up games.

So far, we have uploaded most of the services to our church website for download. I will link to them here and update this post with the new ones when the revival meetings are over.

Update: I have now added the rest of the sermons.

The Consequences of the Resurrection
Worse than Cancer
The Man Called Trouble
Why Not Serve God Anyway?
Brand New
The Test of True Salvation
Whose Pushing Your Buttons
Whose Blood Will Be Required at Your Hand?
When We Don't Do What We Should Do

An Update on The Baptist Muse Forum

Interestingly enough, the Forum section here at The Baptist Muse has been picking up a little bit of steam lately. In fact I recommend you swing by, read, and comment on the thread entitled, "Is Islam A Religion of Peace?" I have been debating with a Muslim man and it would probably be very enlightening and educational to stop by and read through it.

Faith Tunes: Digital Downloads You Can Trust!

Thanks to Tori, my good friend and world-famous missionary to Croatia, over at her blog, A Home Away From Home, I have discovered Faith Tunes. I love browsing through iTunes, but I can hardly ever find any music that is worth listening to. This problem is now over! Faith Music, a leading publisher of traditional, conservative gospel music has launched a new feature at their site called Faith Tunes. Now we can download great Christian songs directly to our computers and iPods. I am excited about this!

Anyways, I hope that you all have a blessed weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by The Baptist Muse don't forget to leave some comments and let us all know that you were here! God Bless.

In Christ,

Nick

A Change Of Ministry - One Wife's Testimony

2008-03-28T02:30:00.003-04:00

Psalm 118:8 "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

For some people, change is never easy. A change in ministry is no different. In this post I would like to share with you my personal experience and feelings as God began to change the direction of the ministry God has for our family. I'm sure my perspective is somewhat different than what my children or husband have.

God used the verse above to help me with this transition our family is going through in more ways than one. I will explain how as I go through this post.

Another portion of Scripture is Ephesians 5:22-24 "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."

I don't know how other wives are but I don't like change. When God called my husband into the ministry, change was not something I had given much thought. In the 13 years since that calling, we have been in two churches. The first one was for ten months and created much hurt. The second church we were at for nearly eight years. The second church has been a great experience. The people loved us and treated us well.

It was approximately a year before God confirmed what He was doing that things began to change. I noticed this change in my heart much like the change that took place before we left our home church. I truly believe that when God gets us ready for a change that He puts a separation in our hearts to make it easier for us to leave the church family that we become close to. Without that separation it would be harder to follow God.

I had always wanted to stay at the same church for our entire ministry. I know pastors who have had that be the case in their lives. I've never been one to like change. I didn't want to believe or admit that God would change our direction or our place of ministry. My husband would comment that he felt something had changed and I would try to encourage him that God was still using him and that everything was fine. The truth was that deep down I knew something wasn't right. I knew things were different.

It took close to a year of trying to fool myself and my husband before I was willing to admit that I knew God was done with us at our church. First, I told the Lord that I needed confirmation of His will. Then I needed peace. The confirmation came when my husband told my children and me that God was moving him into the prison ministry. This news scared me to death. There is security in pastoring. Security in knowing where we'd be going to church for each service. Also in knowing there would be a paycheck each month. We also knew the people we'd be worshipping with and we had become close to them.

It wasn't that I didn't trust my husband and what he had heard from God. I just had seen so many preachers think they had made the decision God wanted them to make only to say later that they missed it. After all, we had no home to go to. We had lived on the church property in a home that the church had fixed for us to live in. My husband's health hasn't been good fro some time. He'd have to get a job and find a home to buy or rent. We'd be going on deputation to get support from churches in which we didn't know a single person. All of these things were things that gave me much fear. How could I know this was God's will?

It was confirmed on a Wednesday night when my husband met with the men to tell them what he felt God was doing. I received my answer that night and also the peace I needed to know this change is God's will. When he told the men they responded by telling him they knew God was getting ready to move us out. They also felt that it would be to go into the prison ministry. When my husband told me all of this I began to cry and thank the Lord for giving me the peace and the answer that I needed.

God has been answering prayer in so many ways since He gave me that peace. God led my husband to a job that suits him that doesn't require a lot of physical activity that would affect his health too much. The job also pays enough to get a house and pay all of our bills. Then God led us to the house we would need to suit us in size and location for a price we could afford. God gave us peace about the church we would have as our sending church. He has provided the money we needed for prayer cards. He has also provided several churches that are willing to let us come so my husband can share the burden God has given us for the prisoners and his burden to try to reach them with the gospel.

God has reminded me that He is our source for everything. Those fears I had were unfounded or without cause. The devil has tried everything to try to keep us from following God's will. He has even influenced one of our children to fight against us and God in this new direction. But we know that we serve a God that is much more mighty and powerful than the devil. So regardless of what that child chooses to do we are going to go forth with God's plan and His will while praying for her to do the right thing. Other family members have shown their disagreement in what we will be doing. But like Psalm 118:8 tells me, we are not to put our confidence in man but in God.

God is sovereign and makes no mistakes. So we will go forth and do as God leads. There has been much to get through in going through this transition but there is now a peace I cannot explain.

Please pray for us as we embark on this new journey that we are beginning. It will be different from what we have known before. But God is the same no matter what. Even though our lives change, God remains the same. AMEN!!

Serving a risen Saviour

Sis. Julie

*****

Author Info: Sister Julie is the author of Julie's Jewels, her personal blog where she writes inspiring devotionals and works to encourage believers.

A Burning and a Shining Light

2008-03-26T15:48:00.001-04:00

When John the Baptist walked throughout Israel preaching and preparing for the rise of Christ's ministry, he was a bold, dynamic preacher. He defied the norms of his day, stepped out in obedience to God's call, and preached with power and effectiveness. He sharply attacked the culture of his world and the religious leadership demanding that they repent and turn back to God. He wasn't afraid to be different, to take a stand, to speak the truth.

Christ himself sang the praises of this man's life and testimony when he said, "There hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." (Matthew 11:11) This was the epithet spoken by Christ himself and recorded in the eternal Scriptures at the tip of Matthew's pen. This is the memorial that will live on forever. Besides the God-man Christ Jesus, there is none greater than John the Baptist.

So what was the secret key to John's powerful spiritual success? What was it that set him apart from the millions of people alive during his day? The answer to these questions rests in another statement that Christ made when talking about John.

Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. ~ John 5:33,35

The light of John's life was characterized by these two elements: Burning and Shining. John's life was aflame both with a burning, passionate zeal to reach others and with a boldness to preach the truth lighting men's paths back toward God.

The use of the word 'burning' in this verse is so unique. It is used in the sense of setting something on fire, of kindling or starting a fire or, by implication, of consuming. John the Baptist was the very embodiment of the modern adage 'on fire for God.'

When asked the secret of his great ability to attract large crowds, John Wesley replied simply, "I set myself on fire and the people come to watch me burn!" John Wesley had simply discovered the method practiced by another John seventeen centuries earlier and recommended by Christ himself in the fifth chapter of the book of John.

John was aflame with passion, zeal and truth. He had no reservations when it came to standing alone for the kingdom of God. He wasn't afraid. And eventually, his flaming trust in Christ would cause him to face the ultimate test of loyalty. He was 'sold-out' and 'on fire' for Christ in a way that most Christians don't even think is possible.

There is a principle in here somewhere. When you get on fire for God with true passion and zeal, Christ takes notice. So how about it? Why not get on fire for God? Why not let your light shine with the fervor and zeal of a sold-out Christian?

Nick

From the Church House to the Mission Field

2008-03-21T07:41:00.002-04:00

My dad started pastoring his first church in 1997. We were only there for ten months. We had a bad experience there, but God knew what He was doing! He was preparing my dad to be the pastor of Eagles View Baptist Church.

My dad started pastoring Eagles View in July of 2000. When I found out that my dad was going to pastor again, I was a little apprehensive because of what our family had gone through with the previous church. We had been hurt badly by the people in the church. They would say they backed him up all the way, but behind his back, they were saying and doing differently. Since what we had been through had been my only experience as a pastor's kid, that was all I could go by.

Being at that first church (which will remain nameless) hurt my family and me in many was. I had been really upset with the people there because of what they had done to my daddy. After all, that's my daddy! It really, really hurt, but I had to learn to let go of that.

When we first started going to Eagles View, I knew immediately that they were different people. The people loved my daddy. They took care of my daddy. Seeing how they treated my daddy was a huge help to me, because it made me know that they loved him and they were going to back him up.

When I first became a pastor's daughter, I was scared to death! After all, the whole church would be watching me to see how I acted, to see what I did, and to hear what I said. I know how I had previously watched my pastor's family, and I was only nine or ten at that time. I really looked up to them. I was one of those people who held the pastor and his family up as really special people. I'm not saying they are not special, because they are, but I would have been mortified if they had done something wrong. Because of the way I looked at my pastor and his family, I just knew people were going to look at me that way, and it scared me!

Now, I am one of those people who do not share their personal feelings to others, so as far as I know, no one knew I was that scared of messing up and saying or doing something wrong. If I could just say one thing to church members it would be this: Don't expect your pastor and his family to be perfect, They do make mistakes, and they will mess up. I know from watching my Mom and my Dad, and experiencing it myself. It brings stress on the family knowing some people in the church expect them to do no wrong.

Eagles View has been the most wonderful church, the people are awesome and they love my dad. They have been a huge blessing!

I guess it was about six months ago, we noticed something within the church had changed. The people still loved us, they loved my dad's preaching, but the services were different and I sensed a separation with the people. My dad said the services lately had been dry (which I too had sensed) and that he had no liberty while preaching. I expressed my feelings to my dad about what I thought was going on, I began to tell him I believed we were fixing to leave the church sometime soon. It was then that he said the same thing: he believed we were fixing to leave as well.

It was about three months later that my dad sat the family down...for a talk! When daddy sat us down all I could think was "Uh oh, what did we do?". Ha ha ha! Anyway, daddy sat us down and began to tell us what he felt God was leading us to do. He told us he felt God was moving us into missions. MISSIONS! I knew we were going to be leaving, but I did not see this coming. This was the thought running back and forth in my mind. Daddy said he felt God was leading him to go with the Highways and Hedges Prison Ministry. He then asked us what we thought and how we felt about it.

We all took a turn telling what we thought, and when it came to my turn I told daddy that I knew we would be leaving, but I had NO idea we would be becoming missionaries. I told daddy that I was fine with it if that was what God wanted. It was about three weeks later when daddy told the church we would be leaving. I was both excited and sad...is that even possible?

Daddy's last official day as pastor of Eagles View Baptist Church will be April 27th of this year. It will be then that we will start out on full time deputation. Right now we are going on deputation part time, going only on Sunday nights...since our evening services on Sunday's start at three. We have already gone to one church on deputation, and the whole ride there I was excited, anxious, nervous, and scared all at once! But the second we pulled into the church parking lot, all of the nervousness and fear was gone! I was not nervous at all. God knew what I needed, and that was for the nervousness to go away! So I thank God for that.

Ultimately, I am really, really excited about all the traveling we will be doing, and the work that God will be doing! I am nervous about going into a new church every service and meeting new people everyday, but I know I will enjoy it!

Please pray for us, we are just starting out and have no idea what we are doing! Ha ha ha! So all the prayers would be greatly appreciated as we begin serving God as missionary's with the Highways and Hedges Prison Ministry to the prisoners in the Alabama, Florida, and Georgia prisons.

Trusting God,

Kristina

*****

Author Info: Kristina is now faithfully serving God as a missionary's daughter and is the author of Kristina's Keepsakes.

Newest Resources and Site Updates

2008-03-20T07:32:00.002-04:00

Here at The Baptist Muse, I am constantly striving to add new links to top quality Independent Fundamental Baptist websites. I have categorized these links into an organized database over at the 'Resources' section of the Baptist Muse. Just click the 'Resources' button at the top of any page to check it out. That section of the website includes links to sermon downloads and podcasts, creation science articles and videos, King James Only resources, and much more! And the best part is that this section of the site is constantly expanding! In fact, here are a couple of links that I've been able to add just this week.

Hook Publications

We are excited about the opportunity God has given us to produce and market Christ-honoring materials. It is a fact that people make life-changing decisions based on the books they read and the people they meet. For that reason we want to get good books and Godly music into their hands. The materials that target the youth are particularly designed to give young people an alternative to secular entertainment. Our goal is to promote Jesus Christ, the King James Bible and to change lives. To this end, we are committed. We hope you enjoy the materials that our family has to offer.

Way Of Life Literature

Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a 31-year-old Fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario. Wilbert Unger is the Pastor of Bethel Baptist. The founder and director is David W. Cloud. At this web site you will find thousands of books and articles that we have placed here for the edification and protection of God's people. Be sure to check out the Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity and the End Times Apostasy Database. The goal of Way of Life Literature is to stand for the truth of God's Word without compromise, to preach the Gospel, and to produce well-documented materials to strengthen New Testament churches in these apostate days.

A Team Effort

As I continue in my efforts to expand the usefulness and thoroughness of The Baptist Muse, I invite you to join with me. I welcome suggestions, ideas, or tips of any kind. If you are a pastor and you want your sermons listed, if you are a webmaster and you want your site added to our database, if you are a nobody like me and you just happen to know of a great website, sermon podcast, Christian wallpaper, or any other resource that I might be able to add to the site, then please email me or leave a comment.

In Christ,

Nick

Sprinkling the Sweet Seeds of Friendship

2008-03-19T02:05:00.004-04:00

It was the summer of 1993 and it was the first time that I ever attended Cedar River Baptist Camp in Letts, IA. I was eight years old and would be turning nine later that summer. I was going to be at camp for 5 days, Monday thru Friday. Though, I might have stayed at a friend’s house over night, I had never been away from my parents for a whole week.

I’ll never forget that summer. I was the only one from my church that went to camp that week. Everyone else was too young and would be going to primary camp. Also, no one went to camp with me as a counselor. I was on my own.

On Monday morning my pastor and his wife took me to the camp and dropped me off. They got me registered, introduced me to some people they knew from another church, said their good-byes and then left. I was scared to death.

A Frightening Adventure

During that week of camp, there was a girl on staff named Stephanie. Stephanie’s whole family worked at the camp during the summer months and then during the fall, winter and spring they travelled around to different churches to sing as a family. Stephanie befriended me that week. She worked in the snack shop and always had a kind word and a smile for me.

In the middle of that week there was a tornado that ended up coming very near to the camp. The staff moved all of the girls into the basement where the snack shop area was located. Again, I was so scared. I didn’t like storms and this was a big one. It was a tornado!

Stephanie was working in the canteen area and she could tell that I was scared. She brought me back behind the counter with her and spent some time talking to me. She could also tell that I was very tired and that was making it worse. She went and got her pillow and her blanket and had me lay down on the floor where she talked to me until I fell asleep. When I woke up the storm was over. They said that the tornado had touched down in a few areas several miles away from the camp.

The Sweet Fruition of a Godly Friendship

By the time Friday had arrived, I was extremely homesick and was ready to leave after breakfast. My pastor came and we left for home after the final morning chapel service. Before I left the camp, I told Stephanie good bye. When I did, she gave me a picture of her and on the back she had written me a note. I gave her my address and she promised that she would write to me.

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” ~Proverbs 18:24

This simple childhood memory that I cherish so much has come to mean the world to me. You see, that summer, God started to teach me about the meaning of friendship. If you want to be friends with someone, I learned, you must first be friendly to them.

Stephanie and I have kept in touch over the years and are now really good friends! Now she is married and has two boys that are three and four years old. They call me Aunt Diane. Well, actually they call me “Aunt Dan.” When the youngest one was learning to talk that’s what he would call me and it has stuck with both of them.

Our relationship over the past fifteen years was sparked by her thoughtful act of kindness. And I am so thankful for her and what she has come to mean to me. Now let me ask you a simple question. Are you sprinkling the seeds of kindness so that someday you can enjoy the sweet fruition of godly friendships?

For His Cause,

Diane Cardot

*****

Author Info: Diane Cardot a godly army wife. She is a wonderful, supportive, and loving person and I am privileged each day to be able to call her my wife.

Overcoming My Bitter Childhood Memories

2008-03-17T07:30:00.005-04:00

When I was sixteen years old, I told my parents that I didn't want anything to do with God. I didn't want to serve a God that would allow me to experience what I had been forced to grow up with. I was at the peak of rebellion and bitterness because of my tragic upbringing.

My parents had adopted me three years earlier when I was thirteen. Before my adoption, I was brought up by a single father. My mother had left before I was even old enough to remember what she looked like. My dad was a heavy drinker and often very violent. He would beat me and make fun of me. To this day, I have scars on my body as a result of what he did to me.

A Struggle with Bitterness and Hate

Following my adoption, I grew to resent my family situation. I looked back on my childhood with contempt and bitterness. I despised the experiences that I was forced to suffer through. Why would a loving God let an innocent child experience such brutality and mistreatment? What had I done as a child to deserve that type of life? These questions plagued my mind. They tortured me.

I would often sit in my room, isolated from the world and from my new family. Alone. I didn't spend time with friends. I didn't talk to people on the phone. I avoided leaving my room at all costs. My mind and thoughts were consumed with the depressing memories of my bitter past. As I sat there in my room, my mind haunted me with so many things that I fervently wished I were able to forget.

Only by the Grace of God

It was at this time that I stumbled across this verse. To my hungry father-starved soul, these words became as sweet as honey. No matter, what my family situation was physically, God wanted to draw close to me and personally fill that void! He wanted me to look to Him as the father that I never had.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:" ~ I John 3:1

My outlook slowly began to change as I grew to realize how beautiful my relationship with Him could be. I began to pray again. I would always begin, "Father..." Before I would even begin my requests, I would pause after that amazing word and let its meaning soak into me. Father. I grew to love that aspect of my relationship with God.

My mindset began to transform! Christ's love began to work in my life and I began to overcome my hatred for my father. My love for him renewed and was now much stronger than it had ever been as a little child before he was violent. I began to pray for my father's salvation. I would visit him often and invite him to church. God's grace is so far beyond my understanding.

It was at that period in my life that I wrote this poem. This poem is the expression of that struggle and the victory that I found in Christ. It was an expression of this new relationship that I was learning to enjoy. Oh, how sweet God is!

A Child of the King
by Nicholas Z. Cardot

Walking through life as time passes me by,
Surrounded by people who can’t hear my cry.
Living and searching for a place to belong,
I find in my heart there’s no joy, there’s no song.
Where is my place in this world of despair?
Could anyone love, or just try to care,
For a small lonely boy at the end of his rope?
Yet no help I find, no man gives me hope.

As a child with my father, we shared such a joy,
To him I was Son, his proud little boy.
My dad was not perfect, but his love I could see,
When he’d hug me real tight as I sat on his knee.
Those times that we shared, that love that we had,
Filled my heart with great pride as I called him my dad.
As my mind now goes back and I think on those days,
My eyes fill with tears and all my sight is a haze.

Things were so grand, yet how could I see,
That life would soon take my dear father from me.
I took it for granted, that time that we shared,
Seldom would I let him know that I cared.
And now that he’s gone I understand what love is,
I’d give my own life if I could save his.
I never understood what great things I had,
Until on that day I was taken from my dad.

My mother was gone; when I was young she had fled.
She lived her own life as if I were dead.
Though I’ve missed her at times and longed for the love,
Of a mother who cares, a sweet gift from above,
I’ve learned to press on, to keep going forward.
Hoping to see her, I keep walking toward,
The goals of my life as I still long to see,
The one who has power to bring great comfort to me.

I dreamed of her often, I dreamed of her much.
To look on her face, to reach out and touch,
To live my whole life with a mother to share,
My heartaches and pains and know that she’d care.
I longed for a shoulder to cry out my fears,
A women to love and take all my tears.
But all these were dreams, fantasies at best,
So yet in my heart I still found no rest.

Walking through life as time passes me by,
Surrounded by people who can’t hear me cry.
I look up to the savior, who for me gave his life,
And I know in full faith that he can calm all my strife.
And when all had forsook me, God sent from above,
The savior to guide me through his holy great love.
Now I bow down in shame as he walks by my side;
‘Tis the greatest of all who now acts as my guide.

Walking through life as time passes me by,
Surrounded by people who can’t hear me cry.
Living and searching for a place to belong,
I now find in my heart a great joy, a great song.
I’ve now found my place in this world of despair,
For Christ gave his love, much more than mere care,
For a poor lonely boy at the end of his rope,
Christ now holds my hand and gives my great hope.

A Living Testimony of God's Grace,

Nick

Scriptural Authority for the Catholic Church

2008-03-16T09:00:00.002-04:00

I have recently been quite taken back by Catholic apologists who try to claim that the foundation of their faith, traditions, and dogma is the Bible. In fact, I have seen these Catholics challenge others to prove that their religion is not based on God's Word. Yet it takes only a casual look at the facts to see that they are not built upon the doctrines and practices outlined in the Scriptures and that the official Catholic Church doesn't pretend to be.

“Thus it comes about that the Church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Hence, both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal feelings of devotion and reverence” (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Chap. 2, 9, p. 682).

Questions For Our Catholic Friends

Where in the Bible do we find Peter assuming and exercising the role of a Catholic pope?
Where does the Bible say the early churches treated Peter in a papal fashion?
Where does the Bible say that one man is the head of all churches?
Where does Bible say God established a special priesthood for the churches that is separate from the priesthood of the believers?
Where does the Bible describe the office of such priests in the early churches?
Where does the Bible say that New Testament priests are ordained after the order of Melchizedek?
Where in the Bible do we find a requirement that pastors be celibate?
Where does the Bible say the apostles passed on their authority through a succession?
Where does the Bible give standards for apostolic succession? There are standards for pastors and deacons, but where are the standards for an ongoing apostleship?
Where does the Bible describe nuns in the early churches?
Where in the Bible do we find anyone praying to Mary or to any other person other than God?
Where does the Bible call Mary the Mother of God?
Where does the Bible say that Mary is the Queen of Heaven?
Where in the Bible do we find the teaching that Mary is sinless?
Where in the Bible do we find the baptism of an infant who is too young to believe in Christ?
Where does the Bible teach us that the church can identify dead people as saints and can then pray to them?
Where does the Bible teach that a dead person can intercede for the living?
Where does the Bible teach about purgatory?
Where does the Bible teach that churches should use the bones of dead men in any type of religious manner?
Where does the Bible teach that the churches used indulgences?
Where in the Bible do we find even one example of a Catholic mass being conducted or even described? If Christ established the mass and if it is central to the Christian faith as Rome claims, why is there not one example of it in the book of Acts and the New Testament epistles?
Where in the Bible do we find Christians taking the Lord’s supper by partaking of the bread alone without the wine or grape juice?
Where in the Bible does Paul or any of the early church leaders teach that there are seven sacraments?
Where in the Bible do we find the churches practicing the sacrament of confirmation?
Where in the Bible do we find the churches practicing any sort of extreme unction or last rites as a sacrament?
Where in the Bible do we find the prayer of the rosary?
Where in the Bible do we find that New Testament churches are to conduct elaborate rituals and ceremonies after the fashion of Rome?
Where in the Bible do we find that the headquarters for the church is to be in Rome?

A Challenge to Return to a Biblical Faith in Christ

Consider one other question. I recently wrote an article entitled "The Blood-Bath of the Catholic Inquisition" in which I posed an incredibly practical question. For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church officially sponsored the execution of anyone who didn't adhere to their belief and practice. Yet today, the Catholic church proudly totes the idea that other religions are simply alternative paths to heaven. Who was right, the church then or now?

These are two mutually exclusive ideologies and yet both have been claimed by the Catholic Church at different periods throughout history. It is most likely, in fact, that this type of dogma was a direct result of the political and civil power that the church has been able to exact over its followers. When they were able, they executed infidels. When they were not in the ruling power, they talk of peace and brotherhood. Were these doctrines created out of political expediency? Very likely. Were they created as a divine revelation from God? Very unlikely.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” ~1 John 5:12-13

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” ~Ephesians 2:8,9

If you are a Catholic, I don't hate you, dislike you or have any negative feelings toward you. And although I may come across as hard-hitting and straightforward, I am not trying to be 'hateful.' I am simply trying to elevate and promote the truth. I am so firm about these truths because I want you to see the errors in the Catholic Church and turn to a Biblical faith in Christ.

For His Glory,

Nick

The Watchman Awards

2008-03-15T11:59:00.007-04:00

Hello! And welcome back to another episode of The Watchman Awards. Allow me to spread a little-link love to some excellent articles this week.

A Few Comments On Commenting

Before I get started, please note the new graphic that I have added to the sidebar just above the recent comments section. You will see a puzzle of The Baptist Muse logo with one piece missing. You, my friends, are that missing piece. When you leave comments, feedback, discussion, and even debate and disagreement, you complete The Baptist Muse. Please leave your thoughts. They mean the world to me and they are important for other readers. Thanks.

Shocking California Court Decision

First, there is has been a shocking court decision in California this week that challenges the rights of parents to home school their children affecting over 155,000 Californian home-schooling families. Rita Vernoy at her blog, The Jungle Hut, has written a great article entitled Home Education in which she thoroughly covers this issue. Please check it out to really grasp what is going on in this situation.

The World-Famous Watchman Awards

Now let me share with you a few of the articles that I have especially enjoyed this week. If you check them out, I am sure they will be a blessing to you.

Go Forward - This article posted at Julie's Jewels is a challenging call for Christians to forget their pasts and to overcome their fearful ideas so that they can continue a forward climb through life.
Auto Repairs 101 - This post is a challenge to return to the Word of God for our instruction manual for life.
Dirty Wounds - Dirty Wounds at Life of a Soldier's Wife is an amazing analogy drawn from a lesson learned from wounds received in the Iraq war. This article creates a great spiritual application.

Guest Bloggers at The Baptist Muse

I would also like to make sure that you have all taken notice of the guest bloggers that have been kind enough to share their thoughts with us. If you haven't already done so, please stop by these articles and leave these folks with your comments and feedback. Let them know that we appreciate them here at The Baptist Muse. Thank you to all of you who contributed this week!

Passion for the Things of God by my very own pastor, Pastor Philip J. Bishop.
This Too Shall Pass by my very wonderful, talented and loving wife, Diane Cardot.
Finding The Light In Cancer's Shadow by Kate Plourde.

Let's Tickle Your Funny Bone

Check out this great quote from presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama. I don't know about you, but this is exactly what I am looking for in the next leader of this nation.

“My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you’ll join with me as we try to change it.” — Barack Obama

Also, here is a FedEx commercial that I love!

Passion for the Things of God

2008-03-14T06:37:00.000-04:00

In Jeremiah 2, Jeremiah remembers with fondness a nation that once was devoted to God. The prophet recalled the love that Israel first pledged to God. He noted their readiness to follow Him, even into the wilderness. Now Israel, the recipient of God’s love had forsaken Him. They had turned from God, and Jeremiah wanted to know why. What iniquity had they found in God to cause them to turn from Him?

Christian, can you remember when you were first saved? Can you remember when you trusted God to supply your needs? Can you remember the excitement as you picked up your Bible and had devotions for the first time? Can you recall how thrilled you were to come to church and hear the preaching of the Word of God? Once you used to sit in church eager to hear. Now, you sit and eagerly wait for it to end. Once you used to stay and fellowship with God’s people. Now you are the first to run out the door.

Abandoning God leaves a person with a life that is empty and worthless. Where there is no service, there is no satisfaction.

The fatal mistake in our churches and families is that we expect our mates and children to be totally committed to us when they and we are not totally committed to God. You, your mate, and your children will never have a true passion for each other without a passion for God.

My love for God can be traced all the way back to my teenage years. I loved God and wanted to please Him. The Lord’s Supper was a solemn time of introspection and soul searching. Church attendance was a mandate, and I was called upon to teach a Junior Boys Sunday school class at 16 years of age. My heroes were my pastors and dedicated Christian leaders. Fear, disappointment, and shame gripped my heart whenever I strayed from God. Those yearnings and desires have lasted until this very day. Where are the teenagers of today with a passion for the things of God?

How about you? Have you lost your passion for the things of God? Fall on your face before a Holy God and seek Him!

The Word of God says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Don’t lose sight of God and the power o f His guiding presence in your life. Cultivate it! Seek it!

Pastor Philip J. Bishop

*****

Author Info: Pastor Bishop is the pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA and is working to reach the Washington DC and Northern Virginia area with the Gospel.

Sure-Fire Strategies for Better Blog Content

2008-03-13T07:47:00.005-04:00

I first began blogging a little less than two years ago and I have certainly come a long way in this field since that first post. At first, it was a passive hobby, something to satisfy my knack at web and graphic design while at the same time being able to express or rather preach what God has been teaching me. Yet now, I love the passion of writing and the excitement of encouraging and challenging other believers.

A very large portion of my audience here at The Baptist Muse, is composed of other like-minded bloggers. Many of you find yourself somewhere along that same journey that I have been taking. Many of you want to improve your abilities to influence others for the cause of Christ through your blog.

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." ~ I Cor. 10:31

I have, in fact, recently been receiving several requests for advice about creating a more successful blog. In this post, I am going to begin an introduction to developing just that, a successful blog. Throughout this post and a few follow-ups, I will discuss ideas for developing your content, tools to hone your writing skills, some basic design rules and guidelines, strategies for increasing readership and much more.

It is important to begin with content. Many other attributes of a blog, including design or marketing, are useless if you cannot provide your readers with quality entertaining, challenging, and informative articles. In fact, you may have the neatest design in the world, yet without great posts your readership will only be mediocre. Follow these guidelines to begin transforming the quality of your blog.

If you write it...they will come!

Quality Grammar - When I write articles for The Baptist Muse, I often make reference to my High School grammar textbook. I keep it right near my computer so that I have easy access to it. You see, the easier your blog is to read grammatically, the more likely your readers will return. In this age of electronic spelling and grammar checkers, there is no reason to produce poorly written content. Yet many solid Christian blogs are filled with distracting errors. Don't get lazy. Take the time to take your writing to the next level!
Fresh Content - Most professional bloggers recommend that you update your blog at least three or four times per week. If you produce less articles than this, readers feel like your site is not worth stopping at because each time they come there they only see information that they have already read. The more you update, the professionals say, the more readers you will attract.

Note: However, don't sacrifice quality for quantity. It is better to produce two excellent articles than four that are poorly written.
Targeted Content - Choose your niche. Although I invite anyone to read this site, here at the Baptist Muse, I cater most exclusively to Independent Fundamental Baptists and I try very much to create content that will be the most helpful to people in that category. If your blog topic is too broad, then often times you will not really attract anyone.
Creative Content - As they say in the corporate world, 'Think Outside The Box!' Or as they used to say at Taco Bell, 'Think Outside The Bun!' When you create headlines and articles that are unique and eye catching you grab the readers attention. Don't follow the same mold that everyone around you seems to follow. Be bold. Challenge people to think differently. Use personal and creative stories to illustrate your articles. Be different. The more creative you can be, the more effective your writing will be.
Original Content - Although it is certainly alright to publish entire articles that are 'copied and pasted' from a chain email or from another website, many readers become bored with these posts. Try to limit these 'copy and paste' articles to less than 20% of your content. Most people read your blog because they want to read your original content.

All The Best,

Nick

This Too Shall Pass

2008-03-12T07:37:00.004-04:00

One day when I was about five or six, my brother, Chris, and I were playing across the street at the neighbor’s. The man who owned the house was an elderly gentleman and his grandkids did not live in the area so he allowed our family to play in his huge yard. Chris was chasing a baby squirrel around the yard and got the notion in his head that he could catch it. I don’t know what he was going to do with it once he caught it but he was determined to grab that squirrel. I was running around when all of a sudden I heard Chris say “Diane, stand still.” So I stopped where I was and watched him as he chased the squirrel.

All of a sudden the squirrel was headed straight for me. What to do? Should I move or stand still like my older brother told me? I decided to stand still. I stood still and that squirrel ran straight up my leg. One minute I was standing there all calm and the next I was scared to death, screaming to get the squirrel off my leg and shaking my leg hysterically to get it off. I don’t know how long it took to get the squirrel off my leg but it seemed like an eternity at the time and it wasn’t funny at all. As I look back now, however, that is one of the funniest childhood memories that I have. I’m not sure if Chris even remembers this but I suppose that since I am publishing this I will soon find out.

Many times in our Christian lives while we are going through what seems like a dark time, we feel scared to death and want to scream just like that little girl that I was that day. We feel that there is no hope and no good that will come out of a troubled time. We often feel alone and that there is no one going through the pain with us.

“What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.” ~ Psalm 56:3

We must remember to put our trust in the Lord and not rely on ourselves during the difficult times!

The dark time will pass. It may be days, months or even years before we can look at that trial where we felt so scared and wanted to scream but we will be able to see that the Lord was there guiding us through. We may even be able to laugh at it when we realize that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

The bible tells us that “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” ~ Proverbs 17:22

Don’t go through your life full of misery and lack of trust in God!

For His Cause,

Diane Cardot

*****

Author Info: Diane Cardot is the wife of the founder of The Baptist Muse.

The Original Tale Of Two Cities

2008-03-11T22:08:00.006-04:00

In 1859, Charles Dickens penned the classic novel A Tale of Two Cities. In that work, he drew a beautiful picture of the situation in prosperous London and compared it to the circumstances of Paris during the French Revolution. On one hand, you had London, a city booming with growth and economic surplus, and on the other you had Paris, a city torn apart through revolutionary war, plagued with mass political executions, and terrorized with famine. These two cities were perfect opposites. With this understanding, its famous opening words seem to create a perfect snapshot of what was taking place during that time.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”

A Weak Comparison to the Original Work

The book certainly creates a bold contrast between a real-life paradise and anti-paradise. Yet as drastic as this contrast is it doesn’t begin to compare to The Original Tale of Two Cities as was authored nearly two thousand years ago in the gospel of Luke.

“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…” ~ Luke 16:22-23

The contrast between heaven and hell is more drastic than an earthly novel can illustrate and yet, even though this contrast is not a work of fiction, it is seldom studied and often misunderstood. Christians live in their redeemed ignorance, blissfully ignoring the fate of those who will die without Christ.

Christians spend far too little time meditating on the fate of the lost. If Christians truly believed the doctrines taught in this chapter, they would be much more fervent about their service for Christ and their outreach for lost souls. Consider this poem that I wrote entitled ‘Heaven and Hell: The Road to Paradise.’ It portrays the Original Tale of Two Cities.

Heaven and Hell: The Road to Paradise

I dare not speak, I cannot tell,
The way of man that leads to Hell.
The flames so fierce with such great woe,
To such a place why would one go?
In that wretched place there is no light,
'Tis forever trapped in eternal night.
Where one is bound with fetter and chain,
Engulfed in fire that brings such pain.
Where in the distance one may ream,
The undying mobs unending scream.

I dare to speak, I can but tell,
The way of man that leads to Hell.
The path of a man that leads this way,
Is a life of sin, many people say.
A life of murder, lies, and rape,
As a child of some prehistoric ape,
Of life like this surely one will pay,
But 'tis not all that leads this way!
But 'tis the path of a life that's trod,
Alone! Alone! Apart from God!

I dare to speak, I'm compelled to tell,
The way of man that leads from Hell.
A place called heaven with a golden shore,
To such a place with wonder galore.
In that great place 'tis forever light,
Where I'll see my Christ with perfect sight.
Where one is free from sickness and pain,
Engulfed in wonder and eternal gain.
Where one may hear throughout the days,
The undying saints unending praise.

I dare to speak, I'm compelled to tell,
The way of man that leads from Hell.
The path of a man that leads this way,
Is a life of goodness, many people say.
A life of service, love, and prayer,
A saintly life that's filled with care.
Of life like this surely one will thrive,
But will not cause us in Heaven to arrive.
But 'tis the path of a life that's trod,
Saved! Saved! With a trust in God!

Nick

Finding the Light in Cancer’s Shadow

2008-03-10T08:00:00.003-04:00

When John and I first heard the doctor say, "You definitely have cancer," it was as if we had been punched in the stomach. You've been there, haven't you? You receive the blow, the wind is knocked out of you and it seems as though you can't breathe! Instinctively, we reached for each other's hand and held on. I remember looking down at our hands intertwined and not being able to tell which were my fingers and which were his. He clutched on to me so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. This was going to prove to be one of the hardest trials we would encounter as man and wife.

The doctor's words seemed to fade as thoughts rushed into my head. The feelings of being overwhelmed came over me and it was at that moment that the Lord reminded me of who we were. We are a child of the King and the God of Glory is still on His throne. Immediately, I felt His presence like a warm blanket! I placed my other hand over John's hand and said a short prayer in my heart, "Lord, give us strength and comfort us at this hour of need." It was as if John reaped the benefit of that plea and his hand began to let go of the death grip. We were reminded of the words that God spoke to Isaiah,

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, ... I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." ~ Isa. 43:1

It is at times like these that we face our own mortality. The world has no hope when they hear news of this nature. Christians, on the other hand, rest in the knowledge that we are the Lord's and He knows us intimately. He knows just when His child needs protection, comfort, and encouragement. He does not remove the trial but gives us exactly what we need at the time we need it. "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." ~ Psa. 91:4. The fiery trials of cancer can be like the storms on the sea but under His wing we are protected.

Yes, cancer does cast a shadow on our day-to-day lives. However, we have the blessed light of God's Word which punches through that shadow with peace, comfort, and encouragement.

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" ~ 1 Peter 1:6-7

The Christian has God's Holy Word to turn to for comfort and encouragement while fighting the trial of cancer. Applying it to our lives brings glory to God!

Best Wishes,

Kate Plourde

*****

Author info: This is a guest post by Kate Plourde, who is using her personal experience to encourage and challenge Christians with Cancer.

What Are You Afraid Of?

2008-03-09T01:18:00.004-05:00

The Cherokee Indians used to have a rite of passage that young boys had to experience before they were considered to be men. A boy’s father would lead him far out into the woods, blindfold him and give him a few instructions. He was to sit on a stump. He was not to lie down or sleep. He was not to remove the blindfold or leave until after the morning light began to push its way through the cloth that wrapped his eyes. He cannot talk or cry out for help. The father then leaves for the village. If the boy survives the night, he is a man.

The boy is terrified. Throughout the night, the boy would shiver as the cold dew settles in on him. He would hear the sounds of coyotes howling in the distance or of boar rustling through the brush. He would hear the wind moaning through the trees. He could hear all kinds of frightening sounds around him.

Finally, however, after a night of terror, the sun would climb up over the hills and the young boy would remove his blindfold. It was only then that he would discover that his father was sitting a short distance away. Although the boy had no idea, his father had been on watch all night ensuring that his son was safe.

Our Father’s Promise Is Often Forgotten

In our modern age, Christians seem plagued with a thousand sources of fear and anxiety. Much like the little boy in our story, Christians seem to hear and feel fear all around them: fear of financial ruin, fear of what other people think, fear of car accidents or plane crashes, fear of losing children or a spouse, fear of fires or tornados, fear of heights, fear of rejection, fear of losing a job. The list could go on.

“…For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” ~ Hebrews 13:5-6

Scripture exhorts us to remember that God is with us and that he desires us to be bold in our lives as we serve and love Him. God makes it clear that, despite the fears that loom all around us, he wants us to live in the peace and confidence that He will provide for us. This theme is echoed all throughout the Bible. Too often, however, Christians forget all about the guiding, protecting presence of our loving father. Christians cower in fear rather than stand with their confidence in God.

Now Personalize It: Take It To Heart

What are you afraid of? What is it that is keeping you from turning your heart over to God? What fear or anxiety is keeping you from making things right? Are you allowing fear to cripple your effectiveness in your service for God?

Remember that David faced a giant before God made him a king!

Nick

The Weekly Watchman Awards

2008-03-08T01:09:00.003-05:00

An Updated Look For The Baptist Muse

Over the past several days, you have probably noticed several design changes here at The Baptist Muse. I have expanded the main body of the page, rearranged the title and footer section of each post, removed the in-between-posts Google Adsense ads, and changed up most of the widgets in the sidebar. I'm always looking to make the site more effective in getting and keeping readers.

I have also recently added a couple of new podcasts for the resources section of The Baptist Muse. Bro. Jeff Voegtlin and his father, Pastor Roger Voegtlin, both from the Fairhaven Baptist Church in Chesterton, IN, are now offering their sermons via a podcast. Swing by our Podcasts page and check out all the preachers that are available for your iPod or mp3 player. If you know of any other podcasting preachings that I don't have listed, be sure to let me know.

And Now For The Watchman Awards...

Each week, I am very pleased to bring you a short list of some of the best Independent Baptist Articles posted that week. This week is no different. Throughout the past week, several unique and inspiring posts have been written on a wide variety of issues.

Repentance is Necessary for Salvation (Part 1) and (Part 2) - Tim Dunkin has written a powerful two part series on the doctrine of repentance. His articles are honest, straightforward, and down-right controversial. He isn't afraid to nail heretics to the wall with his clear-cut proofs from the word of God. Finally, someone who will stand for truth!
Scars of Love - Kate Plourde recently experienced here husband being diagnosed with cancer. As a result, she has been posting articles that are designed specifically to encourage and build Christians who are facing difficult circumstances. This article, though not original to her, is a powerful and engaging work that draws a beautiful picture of God's love. It is definitely a must read.
Exceptions Regarding Salvation - In this article, Bill Hardecker revisits perhaps the most popular verse in the Bible, John 3:16, in a way that will make you stand in awe at God's amazing love. Two thumbs up!

Just To Keep You Smiling!

I found this awesome "Redneck Power Windows" video over at Kristina's Keepsakes. I laughed so hard that I almost fell out of my chair. This sort of reminds me of a room mate that I had in college. His desk was made out of scrap metal from a junkyard.

Are All Christians In A Hurry?

2008-03-07T07:00:00.004-05:00

The great thing about the Internet is that everything is just a click away. If you’re interested in finding information, all you have to do is key a few words into the address bar of your browser and within seconds you will have all the facts, statistics, articles, and reviews that you might need. If you’re interested in purchasing something, you have only to reach as far as your back pocket to find what you want. Grab your credit card and browse an online marketplace to make instant purchases. You can even order home-delivery pizza from several major franchises directly through their websites.

This kind of convenience seems to be the end-goal of every major industry. Fast food restaurants attempt to fill your drive-thru order in as little time as possible. Television networks try to provide you with your favorite TV shows according to your busy schedule through Tivo or On-Demand Pay-Per-View programming. Some stores even allow you to have your groceries delivered directly to your home. By now, your probably beginning to get the idea.

Convenience vs. Character

Most people have been conditioned by these luxuries into what I like to call an ‘instant gratification mindset.’ People with this mindset always seem to be in a hurry. They want things now, and I mean right now! They are in a hurry to get things they want, in a hurry to make a lot of money through get-rich-quick schemes, in a hurry to see something finished that normally requires a lot of time and hard work and, last but not least, in a hurry to see results.

Years ago there was a maxim: Patience is a virtue. A few generations ago, Americans believed that the key to being wealthy was through years of hard work and a solid buy-and-hold investing strategy. Former generations of Americans avoided debt like the plague. They would never have imagined putting a new pair of shoes on a credit card since they wouldn’t have enough money to pay for them for a few more months. They saved and spent only the money they had. Theirs was a generation, not of instant gratification, but of patience. The truth in this principle has nearly been forgotten to today’s modern society.

The World's Influence On Christianity

As America continues this downward spiral toward impatience and instant gratification, she seems to be dragging Christianity along for the ride. American Christians seem to typify these same negative character traits leading to a drastic decline in their spirituality and in their ability to positively influence the world.

Christians seem to be living their lives in such a hurry that they neglect the very activities that they were commanded to be doing. Many Christians have stopped praying because they didn’t see instant answers. Many Christians have quit soul-winning because they didn’t claim instant conversions. Many churches have compromised on music, dress, and doctrine because standing for truth didn’t bring instant crowds.

What are your thoughts? Are you one who patiently obeys and serves God or are you neglecting your responsibilities and your stand for truth because you didn’t see instant results?

Nick

Freelance Chrsitian Writers: Write For Us

2008-03-06T06:23:00.001-05:00

If you are reading this article “Write For Us” , it’s probably because you are interested in writing for The Baptist Muse. Great! :)

I would like to develop a team of writers, preachers, godly wives, Christians, bloggers, [insert title here], and of course I'm always looking for quality content to publish on the blog.

What I Am Looking For

If you would like to suggest a resource for our “resources” section, please leave me some comments also.

If you’re looking to get a little more exposure to your own blog and want to get your name out there, writing on The Baptist Muse should help you do just that.

Rules And Guidelines

Here are some basic “rules and guidelines”. Common sense really. ;)

500 words minimum
No images, I will add one
Spell check before sending your post(s)
If you’re not sure, send a sample of your work. (I don’t bite :) )
I reserve the right to edit your post (h3 and strong tags, punctuation, grammar)
Include a byline/signature (with 2 links max)
No affiliate links
No links to questionable websites

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me through my email. Please put “Write For Us” in the subject line.

Thank you very much,

Nick - The Baptist Muse

Comfort the Mourning with Lies

2008-03-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

In front of me to my left was a simple coffin in which an honored member of the United States Army was to be buried. Surrounding it were six bearers, an officer, and a chaplain. A small group of family and friends gathered to my right facing toward the coffin. At my side was the Arlington Lady whom I was escorting. She was there to convey condolences to the family on behalf of the Chief of Staff of the Army, General George Casey. I stand at the perfect position of attention: feet together, head high, chest out, shoulders back, eyes pointed straight forward. My uniform, and the uniform of every soldier in attendance is perfectly pressed. The seems are sharp and crisp. We did the work on them ourselves. We know that everything is perfectly in place.

Once everyone has moved into place, the officer takes a step back and to the side signaling to the chaplain that he may now speak. The chaplain steps forward and begins to eulogize. He speaks about the great sacrifice that this man made to earn the privilege of a burial in Arlington National Cemetery. He talks about the loving husband and father that he was to his family. Then, looking the widow right in the eyes, he begins to tell of the happiness that he is now enjoying in the bliss of Heaven since that is where he now is.

It seems, based on the account of the chaplains, that every person whom they have ever buried is now enjoying God's presence in heaven. Catholic, Jewish, protestant: They are all on the road to the same place. They are, of course, unless you believe the Bible.

Day after day, my heart is torn during these funerals. I stand trapped in the prison of my ceremonial composure, locked at the position of attention, listening to a blanket of lies in the name of comfort and help. They throw out a candy of temporary comfort in exchange for eternally confusing the theology of everyone present.

Oh, Bro. Nick! It's not that big of deal. They are just trying to comfort a family during a time of grief and sorrow. No, friends, they are perverting, on a daily basis, the truth of the gospel in that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. Salvation is not found through sacraments, through American heroism and patriotism, or through having a rabbi pray for you. Salvation is only found through Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, every white-washing of the truth and every lie that a chaplain tells to a friend or family member only helps to ensure that they do not see their need for Christ. Every compromise that is taken, every truth that is neglected can ultimately lead to eternal consequences.

Almost on a daily basis, one of the chaplains try to recruit me and encourage me to consider becoming a chaplain. Almost all of the chaplains that work in Arlington National Cemetery have sat down with me and discussed the benefits of taking that job.

The Army Chaplaincy, however, seems, much like modern evangelicalism, to be plagued with compromise and pluralism. Chaplains are not willing to take a stand for God's Word because it might offend someone or because their superiors might not approve of their actions. They are not willing to speak the truth because it may not be comfortable to hear in the Army culture.

"Consider how neat it is to have Uncle Sam paying for the work of the Lord!" a chaplain chimed in one day. "Imagine living on an officer salary and doing the work of a pastor!"

At another time, one told me that I needed to be willing to not always pray in 'Jesus Name.' He encouraged me to consider praying to 'our most gracious God.' After all, that is still praying to Christ and the father yet it won't offend someone who may be a Muslim. Besides, when Christ told us to pray in his name, he wasn't just talking about attaching some magic words to the end of our prayers. He went on to tell me that if I wanted to be a chaplain that I would have to learn a few 'tricks' like this.

They've asked me to consider the chaplaincy. I would, however, prefer to take the road less traveled. I would rather live for the truth. Here I stand. God help me.

The Catholic Church or The Bible

2008-03-04T07:34:00.003-05:00

Throughout the ages, the Catholic church has continued to evolve into the religious organization that it is today. They have, over time, replaced many of the key doctrines that Christ taught with traditions that counsels and pope's have enacted. The Catholic church has, in general, fallen guilty of the same crimes as the pharisees of Jesus' day. They have crafted a religion based on the philosophies of sinful men rather than relying on the finished work of God's Word. Just as the pharisees, the Catholic Church has fallen hard from where God had once intended.

"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men... And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." ~ Mark 7:7-9

The Catholic Church has blatantly replaced God's commandments with their own dogma. For us to make this strong assertion, however, demands that we back it up with clear, specific examples. Although there are many points that could be made (Luther initially came up with 95), we will restrict our list to five.

The Catholic Church Adds Sacraments to Salvation. The Bible is very clear that there is only one way to enter into the gates of Heaven. In fact, every where that one turns in the New Testament reaffirms the simple fact that salvation is only found through faith in Jesus Christ with nothing else added or taken away.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." ~ Eph. 2:8-9

Many other verses are very clear that salvation is not found in penance or in good deeds. To quote them all would be an exhaustive study. It is always through repentance and faith that salvation is found.

The Catholic Church Forbid Their Leadership to Marry. This point is particularly interesting to me in light of the fact that scripture specifically mentions this doctrine as heresy.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils...Forbidding to marry..." ~ I Tim. 4:3-4

"For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." Tit. 1:5-6

Paul goes into specific detail in addressing the family situation of elders and bishops in the Pastoral Epistles, or I and II Timothy and Titus. He very clearly describes bishops as being the husband of one wife (not zero) and having children that are not unruly...not non-existent.

The Catholic Church Baptizes Infants. In the book of acts, a young man came to Philip and after hearing the gospel he asked if he could be baptized. Pay attention to the response that Philip gave to this man.

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." ~ Acts 8:36-37

Philip placed one major prerequisite for this man to meet before he could be baptized. He had to have a clear understanding of his faith in Jesus Christ if he wished to stir the baptismal waters. Is it possible for an infant to meet this demand?

Also, is it even necessary for an infant to be baptized. In II Samuel 12, David had fasted and prayed for God to spare the life of his newborn child. After seven days of prayer, the child died. Immediately he stood up and began to go about his business. He had no fear about where the child was even though the child had not been baptized. In fact, he seemed very confident that the child was in heaven.

"But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." ~ II Samuel 12: 23

As I stated at the open of this article, there are many reasons that could be listed yet I have chosen only to select a few. I invite you all to post any other reasons that you may think of. I also invite any Catholics to chime in and discuss this with me as I am always trying to learn more about different faith groups regardless of whether I agree with them or not. I want to continue learning.

Sickness and Sunsets or The Nasty Bug

2008-03-03T21:09:00.005-05:00

Recently, my husband Nick was sick with a sore throat that he says he got from all of you other bloggers. He is still not feeling 100% but he is almost there. Unfortunately he managed to give it to me after I was so patient in taking care of him and pampering him just like he asked me. But like he says, he was told to share as a child and that's what he did.

After a lot of sleep, rest, and drinking lots of fluids, I felt tons better by Sunday night. Today I felt almost back to my normal self (which isn't actually very normal, especially since I am married to Nick). He still has a little bit of a sore throat and is starting to see that drinking a lot of fluids is the key to getting rid of this nasty bug. He has a hard head but he is slowly learning that his wife is always right! LOL!

Today was great. It was around 70 degrees and the sun was beautiful. When Nick arrived home from work, he wanted to get outside and do something active. I think he was tired of being cooped up. We went for a run around our neighborhood. Well...Nick ran and I rode my new bicycle. This way he was able to run at a pace that is comfortable for him and not my slow poke running pace. It was a good run and we finished up just as it was getting dark. We were able to watch the sun set. I love seeing God's handiwork in nature. It was so peaceful minus the cars driving by, but it was almost like we were alone in the country somewhere with only nature, God and each other.

5 Principles for Managing Debt

2008-03-03T06:57:00.003-05:00

Many people are greatly hindered in their service for God because they cannot afford to do what God has called them to do. Two years ago a friend of mine wanted to pastor a church but had to stay and work a secular job until he could pay off tens of thousands in debt. He could have begun fulfilling his calling years earlier had he not made the bad decisions that landed him in that situation.

This post is my attempt to share some financial principles that I have learned over the years. I have yet to pay any interest on a credit card and have, in fact, made hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars from credit cards. I am the type of card holder that the credit card companies hate! Let me teach you a few rules to live by for financial success in the area of debt management.

Keep Debt to a Minimum! You should retrain yourself to consider all debt as bad. You should strive each month to pay off as much of your debt as possible. If the payment due is $20 then pay $30. Check this out: According to CNN Money, the average American family holds over $9,000 in debt. Wow!

"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."
~ Proverbs 22:7
If You Can't Afford It, Don't Buy It! Most people base their standard of living on how they see others around them living rather than on their own monthly income. In fact, I often see my neighbor complaining about his financial situation only to see him go out and buy a new car or some video games because the store let him buy it on credit. According to MSN, 43% of Americans spend more than they earn each year. This kind of buying defies logic and it will lead to absolute financial chaos!

"Don't sacrifice the future on the altar of the immediate!"

Learn the Difference Between Good Debt and Bad Debt! There are two element to this principle and only one exception. First, if you are paying interest, it is bad debt. A friend of mine once told me what a great deal he got on a computer. Later he made the mistake of showing me the credit card bill that was charging him over 20% in interest plus several late fees. He ended up paying nearly double what the computer was worth. What a great deal!?!

Second, if you don't have the money to pay it off, it is bad debt. Make it a rule that you will not spend more than you have in the bank. Decide that you will not charge more than you can pay off each month. If you pay your credit cards by the end of each month, they will not charge any interest at all.

The only exception to this rule is in buying a house and that is based on the faith we place in the appreciation of its value. Discounting the tax benefits, we know that over the life of a mortgage its increase in value will outweigh our loss in interest.

Take Advantage of 0% Offers! Two years ago, I received a letter from my bank, Fifth Third Bancorp, in which they gave me three checks that I could write against one of my credit cards. In the letter, they offered no fees or interest for six months. I had an idea. I called them and asked them to increase my credit limit to $10,000. They checked my credit score and immediately approved. I took that money and placed it in an interest bearing account. Six months later, I payed it off and incurred no fees. I made several hundred dollars.

Take Advantage of Cash Rebates! I have a credit card from Chase bank that offers 5% cash back on all purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies. I purchase all of my gas and groceries on this card and I pay it off every month. Over the past year or so, I have made over $500 and have yet to pay any interest or fees on this card. Look for deals like this to take advantage of.

Keep in mind that it does not matter what income level you are at. I learned these principles when I was at an extremely low income level. I was a poor married guy trying to pay his way through Bible college. Yet even at a low income level, I was able to put more money into savings every month, I was able to learn about investing, and I was able pass up a lot of my friends financially even though they made more money than me. Don't waste your money. Be a wise steward of what God has given you and you will be free to serve him without restriction.

Please post some comments on this post and share with us what you think about these principles. Please share with us some of the principles that you practice in this area that I may not have mentioned or that I may need to learn.

All the Air and Water in the World

2008-03-02T13:02:00.003-05:00

"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion." ~ Jeremiah 10:12

I found this picture at a site entitled The Thinking Blogger. Allegedly, this is all of the air and water in the world drawn to scale and shown next to the earth. On the left, you see all of the air in the world (5,140 trillion tonnes) gathered into a ball at sea-level density. On the right, you see all of the water in the world (1.4087 billion cubic kilometers) which includes sea water, ice, lakes, rivers, ground water, clouds, etc.

At first, I thought that the water seemed way too small. After all, isn't the earth 70% water. However, I heard a great explanation. The earth is not 70% water. Stupid me. The earth is 70% covered in water. Water only covers the surface of the earth and compared to the mass of the earth it is relatively small! Very interesting.

The World-Famous Watchman Awards

2008-03-01T15:55:00.001-05:00

I created this nice eye-catching Watchman Award logo a few weeks ago for the sole purpose of praising those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their blogging. Maybe I should nickname this award as The Congressional Medal of Blogging. Then of course I would have to lobby congress to back this worthy initiative and although I am quite confident that they would whole-heartedly support it, I don't want to have to deal with that hassle. Anyways, anyone listed in this article is the recipient of the nearly-world famous and greatly-sought-after Watchman Award! Feel free to reproduce this logo on your own website to let the world know that you are such a fantastic, outstanding blogger!

I have found some really interesting articles and series of articles this week as I have been reading through all of your blogs. I have especially been noticing some very funny content that has been very entertaining. For example, over at "You Think Too Much" by Bro. Jeff Voegtlin, there is a humor series that he has been posting on this week that is just hilarious. He has been filling it with some short, one-paragraph stories that will just have you rolling on the floor laughing. He has entitled this segment the "Stupid Series." Without trying to steal his thunder, let me just post one on here and then you need to head over there and check out the rest!

A mother calls 911 very worried asking the dispatcher if she needs to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid was eating ants. The dispatcher tells her to give the kid some Benadryl and it should be fine. The mother says, I just gave him some ant killer…..

Dispatcher: Rush him in to emergency room!

~ Stupid #9 by Jeff Voegtlin at You Think Too Much

On another note in the topic of humor, be sure to check out this week's "Saturday Morning Cartoons" over at Rita Vernoy's Jungle Hut. She posted some great political humor in the form of some great images. She has a very nice montage of Sen. Clinton making some of her 'presidential' faces. There is also, of course, the wonderful tee shirt that I have posted here. You can get one of these and let the whole world know about your support. or lack thereof, for Hilary Rodham Rodham Clinton. (Isn't that how Al Rushbo always says it?)

In fact, generally speaking, The Jungle Hut is a great source for entertaining stories, informative news, and just great content. Since I'm on the subject, let me throw out one more link to an article on her site. She recently posted an article entitled "The Religion of Peace Kills Another Christian Worker." She writes in this article about the tragic execution of an American missionary in the nation of Afghanistan. That's right. You heard me, or rather, read me. American controlled Afghanistan!

As a finishing note, I found a couple of very thought provoking articles at two blogs that I really enjoy reading. Let me share them with you.

What I don't Want by Jen over at Joy in His Presence
Stop! by Sis. Julie over at Julie's Jewels

My Musings

He Did Eat Continually At The King's Table

Missing In Action

The Friday Funnies - Man Rules­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

A Modern American Hero: A Testimony from the Frontlines of Iraq

The Friday Funnies

Selfless Pursuit of the Will of God

In the Arms of Sweet Deliverance

The Peace of a Real Salvation

Broken to Beautiful

Lovers of Their Own Selves

Updating the Style at the Baptist Muse

A Turn for the Miraculous

From the Church of Rome to the Family of God

New Feature: Referrals For Cash!

God's Simple Plan of Salvation

The Friday Funnies

Share Your Testimony!

About the Founder of The Baptist Muse

My Testimony: Looking Back at the Grace of God (Part 3)

A Memorial Day Tribute

My Testimony: Looking Back At The Grace of God (Part 2)

My Testimony: A Look Back at the Grace of God (Part 1)

The Friday Funnies...A Day Early - The Trunk Monkey

Addicted To God (Part 4)

We Must Always Be Growing Our Desire For God!

Developing An Addiction To God

Conclusion

Addicted To God (Part 3)

How Bad Do You Want God To Do A Work In Your Life?

A desire is only as strong as the action it produces.

Life IS A War Of Desires

The Weekly Book Give Away!

Addicted To God (Part 2)

His Desire Outweighed All The Obstacles

Addicted To God (Part 1)

Our Three Year Anniversary

Parenting that Pleases the Father

The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 2)

The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 1)

The Hope of a Nation

The Weekly Book Give Away!

My Ten Year Adoption Anniversary

Thank You by Nicholas Z. Cardot

In Honor of James and Janelle Delhotal

Is the World Comfortably Abiding in Your House?

Falling in Love With Him...Again

Your First Date With God

Rewards, Updates, and Growth!

Join The Team - Write At The Baptist Muse

What I Am Looking For

Rules And Guidelines

Site Updates To Tickle Your Fancy

Forum Rank and Awards Systems

Independent Fundamental Baptist Church Directory

Blog Posts Rating System

A Lesson Learned: Persistent Prayer

Get Rewarded at The Baptist Muse

By the Authority of the U.S. Supreme Court

Those Hate-Mongering Baptist Preachers!

Made to be His Help Meet

Leadership 101: Influence vs. Position

Free Weekly Give Away! Get Rewarded!

Are Your Friends a Bad Influence?

4 Useful Things You Could Do Tomorrow

1. Get Up Earlier

2. Work Out for a Few Minutes

3. Start Your Day With A Prioritized To-Do List

4. Organize Your Work Space

The Winner of the Tax Time Giveaway

Something Special for the One You Love

I Got My Roadmap! Do You?

A Lesson in Old-Fashioned American Patriotism

How to Deal With Life's Malfunctions

The Causes of the 'Great Recession'

Joyfully Caring For God's Children

Tax Relief At The Baptist Muse

Grab As Many Points As You Can…And Here’s How

The Testimony of a Praying Wife

A Sunday Morning Surprise

The Friday Funnies - Man Rules