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The wedding was over. The confetti had been thrown. The cake had been cut and the presents opened. Tom and his bride were alone at last. As the car pulled away from the curb, the bride moved over to the far end of the seat as far away from her new husband as she could.

“Tom, take me home!”

“Home? We haven’t even started our honeymoon yet. Our new home won’t be ready for three weeks.”

“I don’t want to go to the house you’re building, at least not yet…maybe not for a long time. Please take me back to my home.” 

Tom looked at his new bride in unbelief and amazement, but there could be no doubt about it. She was serious. His amazement grew as she continued, “Tom, I’m glad we’re married. We belong to each other, and I will use your name as mine. But, please, I want to go back to my old place. Now that we’re married, I’ll try to see you at least once a week. But as far as living with you in concerned, nothing doing! I’m going back to my  old ways, my old friends, and my old pastimes. Oh, yes, I do love you! I’ve accepted you as my husband, haven’t I? I belong to you forever, but I refuse to let you interfere with my life. I’m going to live to please myself. Of course, if I’m sick or if I need anything, I’ll call you right away. After all, you are my husband. In the meantime, thank you for loving me. Thank you for asking me to be yours, thank you for being my husband, but HANDS OFF MY LIFE!”

Isn’t this a mockery? To accept a person as husband or wife is an act of commitment. And that is exactly what it means to be a Christian. But unfortunately, there are many who call themselves Christians whose attitude toward Christ is the same as Tom’s bride toward him. They say they have accepted the Lord and belong to Him, yet tell Him by their actions to keep His hands off their life and continue to live as they please. What kind of commitment have you made to Him? 

Bro. Ken

The church gossip and self-appointed judge of the church’s morals kept sticking her nose in other people’s business. Many church members didn’t appreciate her actions, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. 

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being drunk after she saw his pickup truck parked in from of the town’s only bar late one afternoon. She commented to George the following Sunday morning, in the company of many people, that everyone seeing his truck parked where it was would KNOW what he was doing. 

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny; he said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup truck in front of HER house and left it there all night!

The last I checked, conclusion-jumping was NOT one of the events in the upcoming Olympics. If it was, I’m afraid a whole lot of people would be in contention for the gold medal. Let’s remember the Golden Rule of doing unto others as we would have them do unto us and give them the benefit of any doubt we have about their actions. Ask them FIRST about any concerns you have before you pass it along to others. You BOTH will benefit from it. 

A new year brings a time of mixed feelings. We look back with fondness on the good times we’ve experienced. We feel sadness as we think of the unpleasant times. We look forward with hope that what we didn’t accomplish last year, with God’s help and should Jesus tarry His coming, we will this year.

The Apostle Paul, through his writing to the Philippian church (3:13), gives us some good advice as we begin a new year. His advice is to forget the things which are behind us and reach toward the things which are before us. 

There are some things we would all do well to forget and I’d like to suggest several of them: 

• Forget our failures. The only people who don’t make mistakes or fail at something are the ones in the cemetery! God doesn’t want us to focus on the losses, but on the lessons we learn through them. 
• Forget others’ faults. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that we make a big deal about the faults of others while overlooking our own, when our own may be a lot bigger than the folks we’re criticizing. Wouldn’t this new year be a real blessing to us if we just loved everybody, in spite of their faults? That’s what God did for us; let’s do the same for others. 
• Forget our finances. There’s a tendency today to spend too much time either making money, spending money or worrying or complaining about the lack of it. If we’ll put God and His business first and surrender our finances to Him, they won’t be a problem or concern for us. 

If we’ll forget these things which are behind us, 2019 will be a banner year in our service to the Lord. Have a blessed and God-honoring New Year!

Bro. Ken

One of my favorite stories during Christmas is The Christmas Guest. Maybe you’ve read it or heard it told. The basic plot is this: A man is told that God is going to visit him on Christmas day. The man anxiously prepares for the Lord’s arrival. As he’s waiting, a homeless man knocks on his door. Even though he knows the Lord is coming, he takes time to give the man clean clothes and new shoes. A little later in the day he hears another knock. Again, he answers the door anticipating a visit from the Lord. This time it is a widowed woman who is hungry. Instead of turning her away, the man offers her soup and a warm place to stay. Just as the sun begins to set, the man hears another knock. It is not his anticipated guest; it is a child who has lost her way. Once again, the man opens his heart and helps the child find her way home. Later that night as he prays, he asks God why He didn’t come to visit on Christmas when He promised He would. The Lord replied: 

Lift up your head, for I kept my word.

Three times my shadow crossed your floor.

And three times I came to your lonely door. 

I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet;

And I was the woman you gave something to eat; 

I was the child on the homeless street. 

Three times I knocked and three times I came in

And each time I found the warmth of a friend. 

Of all the gifts, love is best

And I was honored to by your Christmas guest. 

Here is a list to things which, if you give up, will make your life a lot easier and much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress, and suffering. And instead of letting them go and allowing ourselves to be stress-free and happy, we cling on to them. Let me encourage you to start today and give up those things that no longer serve any useful purpose in your life. Here they are: 

Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong, wanting to always be right, even at the risk of damaging relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain for us and others. It’s just not worth it. Whoever you feel the urgent need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question, “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?”

Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you, such as situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, co-workers, or just strangers you meet on the street, just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will begin to see how much better that will make you feel. 

Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving away the power to control your life and start taking responsibility  for it. 

Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about everything that makes you unhappy, irritable, and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy and no situation can make you said, made, or miserable unless you allow it. It’s not the situation or person that triggers bad feelings in you, but how you choose to view it or them. 

Give up the past. The past may be better or worse than the present and the future can be frightening. But you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you may be now longing for and dreaming about was ignored by you when it was the present. Stop looking back. Live in the present and enjoy it. After all, life is a journey, not a destination. Dream about the future and with God’s help, prepare yourself for it, but always live in the present. That’s where the blessings are! 

Bro. Ken

The second Sunday of this month concludes two years of ministry together with you, our Calvary church family. As we begin our third year of ministry, we are just as excited and delighted to serve with you as we were on our first day! You continually amaze us with your generosity, encouragement, love, and support. Please know of our appreciation for every act of kindness, every word of encouragement, and every way you express your love to us and for us. 

The first Sunday of next month, October 7, is our 148th anniversary and homecoming. Rev. Benjamin Smoak, associate pastor and pastor of Calvary from 2002-2012, will be our speaker for the morning service. North Greenville University’s Joyful Sound will be our musical guests. Please mark this data on your calendar and begin now to make plans to be here and invite others. 

Fall will soon be here and with it cooler weather. Make a commitment now to be faithful in your attendance, service, and stewardship in this coming church year. God will bless and honor your efforts!

Bro. Ken

People like to swim down the Danube River in Vienna, Austria. Extremely strong whirlpools often pull even the strongest swimmers into the churning water. But expert swimmers don’t worry about the currents because, rather than fighting and struggling against the pull of the water, they relax and allow the churning, swirling water to spit them back out again. 

That’s very difficult, and it’s just as difficult for us to wait on the Lord in the midst of churning trials. But if we’re patient and calm, we may find that the day of our disaster may be the day of our discovery. When the sun is shining brightly in our lives, often we depend on ourselves and don’t listen to God. He gets our attention though in the middle of storms! The Bible teaches us that storms of life are inevitable and they come to those houses built upon the sand AND those built upon the Rock. 

Sometimes God calms the storm and sometimes He calms us as the storm continues to rage. The great musician George Handel was recovering from a stroke that had left him with partial paralysis when he wrote The Messiah. Despite circumstances that could have destroyed him, God used him to create beautiful music, including The Hallelujah Chorus. 

Wait on the Lord and you too might just experience calm in your calamity and music in your mess!

Bro. Ken

Our church was saddened this month to learn of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else. Someone’s passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person’s share of work. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or meeting to attend, one name was on everyone’s list, “Let Someone Else do it.” 

Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing superhuman. 

Were the truth known, everyone expected too much of Someone Else. Now, Someone Else is gone. We wonder what we’re going to do in their absence. Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? 

We are currently in the process of trying to fill many positions of service in the church. When you’re asked to help this year, remember — we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore!

Bro. Ken

“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals — one on His right, the other on His left. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminals rebuked him and said to Jesus, ‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.’ ” (Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 NIV)

Three crosses stood on Calvary’s hill, each holding a man condemned to die. One man died in sin. He was a dying sinner. He died with sin in him. His was the cross of rejection. To his many sins the criminal added the greatest sin of al: unbelief. 

One man died to sin. He was a dying saint. he died with sin taken from him. His was the cross of reception. This criminal believed, and as a result, his sins were cancelled by Jesus. What a day it was for him! Morning in sin; noon in grace; night in glory. 

One man died for sin. He was a dying Savior. He died with sin upon Him. His was the cross of redemption. This cross is the wonder of all time. The sins upon Jesus were the sins of the world and by this cross, Jesus won heaven for all who believe. 

This beautiful Easter season, every person must decide what they are going to do about this Jesus who died on the cross in the middle. Like the criminals crucified with Him, you can reject or accept His sacrifice for you. To reject is to spend eternity in agony; to accept is to spend eternity in heaven. The choice is ours!

Bro. Ken

Here are some Christian one-liners that make for good reading. Enjoy them and use them!

• “Pray” is a four-letter word you can say anywhere — except in public schools.
• Man’s way leads to a hopeless end; God’s way leads to an endless hope. 
• Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers. 
• Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your door forever.
• Some minds are like concrete: thoroughly mixed up and permanently set. 
• God doesn’t want shares of your life; He wants the controlling interest. 
• Exercise daily; walk with the Lord. 
• Never give the devil a ride; he will always want to drive. 
• A clean conscience makes a soft pillow. 
• Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop. 
• Quit griping about your church, if it was perfect, you couldn’t belong. 
• Be fishers of men; you catch them and God will clean them!

Bro. Ken