Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church

Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church
174 Rockhouse Rd
Tomahawk , KY 41262
alt: 606-477-4076
sterlingj1956@gmail.com

The Pastors Pen

The Pastors Pen is published each Wednesday in the Mountain Citizen weekly newspaper of Inez, Kentucky.

Pastors Pen 8/19/2020

Paid In Full
So many people have the idea that salvation is on the installment plan. When you go to buy a house you make a down payment. After you make the downpayment you then begin to make monthly installments. There are some people who have this idea that when Jesus Christ shed His blood, He made the downpayment for our sins, and then we make the installments by going to church, keeping the Ten Commandments, being religious, doing good. I got some news for you. When Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross, He paid off the entire mortgage!
Just before Jesus breathed his last on the cross, He said in John 19:30, "It is finished." Those three words in the English language are one word in the Greek language "Tetelisti" and that literally means "Paid in full."
Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation, had a dream. In fact, I guess you would call it a nightmare. He didn't know what it was, but he awakened in the middle of the night, and standing at the foot of his bed was a figure that he believed to be the devil himself.
The devil had a scroll, and on that scroll were the sins that Martin Luther had committed. The scroll was accurate. It was true. The devil was reading them one after another and pointing a fiery bony finger into the face of Martin Luther and condemning him and accusing him and saying, "What hope of heaven do you have as a miserable sinner?"
Martin Luther said that he thought his very soul was slipping down into hell. But then the Lord spoke to Martin Luther and said, "Martin, tell him to unroll the scroll all the way down." Martin Luther said, "Unroll the scroll." He said the devil refused. Luther said, "This time I said, 'In the name of Jesus, unroll the scroll.'" The devil did unroll it and there printed at the bottom of all of the sins Martin Luther had ever committed were these words written across the entire thing: "This entire sin account of Martin Luther has been paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ."
One time of a party of six people who began a dangerous descent of a peak in the Swiss Alps. The first man in line lost his foothold and slipped over an icy ledge. The next two men slid after him while the experienced climbers above braced themselves and stood firm to bear the shock. They thought, without any question, they would simply hold and all these men would be saved by the rope they were connected to. But when the rope ran its length, the cord snapped in two. The climbers watched in horror as their friends scrambled hopelessly to stop their slide over the slick precipice. Within seconds the three men fell screaming to their deaths 4000 feet below. Hours later they arrived safely, eager to find answers. Why had the rope broken? They were told that true Alpine Club rope would never break, and that was true. The survivors were shocked when a close examination revealed the rope they had was not true Alpine Club rope. It was a poor cheap fatal substitute. How did they know it was not the true Alpine Club rope that the professional climbers used? Because true Alpine Club quality rope has a red strand running through it, but this rope did not.
I don't know what your rope of hope is that you are holding on to; counting on it to take you to heaven. But I can tell you what my rope of hope is. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Because nothing but the blood can save you.
The Pastors Pen 8/12/2020

Nothing But The Blood

Christians, we need to remember how we got here, what power was it that changed us from hopeless to assurance? What power put us into the kingdom of God. What is the power that saved us from our sin?
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:7 It is extremely important to see that the verse does not say that the blood of Jesus Christ "has cleansed us," or "will cleanse us." It says specifically it "cleanses us." That verb is in the present tense. What it literally says is, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us and keeps on cleansing us. It cleanses us now, it cleanses us today, it cleanses us tomorrow. Every day that you need to be cleansed, the blood is available to do the job.
So often after someone gets saved, the first question they ask is, "What happens now when I sin?" Let me give you some bad news. If you get saved today there's a strong chance you're going to sin tomorrow.
Now let me give you the good news. You get saved today and tomorrow you lose your temper, just remember "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us." If you get saved today and you let a bad word slip out tomorrow, just remember "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us." If you get saved today and you think an impure thought tomorrow, just remember "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us."
If you ever do any grocery shopping, you will notice that today when you buy certain products like milk or something else, it will say "Use by" and it will give you a certain date. The reason for that is, if you don't use it by that date it will either lose its potency and its effectiveness, or, like milk, it could get sour and be unhealthy to use. The blood of Jesus Christ never loses its power. It is just as effective in washing the dirt of depravity away today as it was 2000 years ago.
A sailor is designated at night as the Officer of the Deck. That means he has the watch late at night. At night no white lights are allowed on the bridge because they hinder the ability to look out and see other ships or obstacles to the safety of the ship. So all of the lights and flashlights have a red filter over the lens maximizing night vision.
When these officers would receive messages or documents, they could read every one as long but if the document was written in red, the red light would blend with the ink of the pencil, and you couldn't see what was on the paper. When we receive Jesus Christ, God puts a red filter over the lens of His eyes, and when He looks down at our life, all of our sins are completely gone. He cannot see them through the filter of His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastors Pen 8/5/20

There’s No Place Like Home

Years ago, had you stood on the street corner and watched the funeral procession, you would have been extremely impressed. You would have seen standing there, with his head bowed and his hat removed, and tears in his eyes, the President of the United States.
Around him would have been the Cabinet, officers and members of Congress, dignitaries from Berlin, London, Tokyo, and Washington, D. C.

There was a tremendous crowd there watching that casket, draped in Old Glory, as it went down the road in that funeral procession. In fact, there was such dignity, awe, and respect, that had you not seen the President there you would have thought that he was the one in the casket.

Well who was this? Who was this person who was so honored? Well, he never held an elected office; he wasn't wealthy. In fact, I will call his name in a moment and I doubt any of you will recognize it. He got into government service, ended up overseas in Tripoli and he died in Tripoli.

But he was so loved and so revered by the people of this country, and by people from all over the world, that they disinterred his body there in Tripoli and brought him back to the United States to give him this magnificent funeral. His name was John Howard Payne. Do you know what he was so loved for? Do you know what he was so noted for? Do you know why he was so honored and revered at his death? Because of one simple line that he wrote:

Mid pleasures and palaces, Though oft I may roam; Be it ever so humble, There's no place like home…….And for that one phrase, they honored John Howard Payne.

That statement is true in more ways than one. There is no place like home. The dearest place on earth, and the nearest place to heaven ought to be the home.

The home, as we know it, and the home as God meant it to be, is becoming more and more like the buffalo, the sperm whale, the whooping crane, it is becoming an endangered species.

In 1985, for the first time in our history, families without children outnumbered families with children. Add to this that the divorce rate has risen 900% in the last 65 years, that 55% of all first marriages and 65% of all second marriages end in divorce.1 It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the home and the family, as we know it, is in deep, deep trouble.

While the home here is in trouble… our future home looks better than ever. There will be no trouble in that home, for everything will be perfect. John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

It will be perfect because Jesus is there. It will be home because Jesus is there. There is no place like home. Are you going to that home? Have put your faith in trust in Jesus Christ? You will be a vagabond forever in hell. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. You are not welcome there but you are an unwelcome guest for all eternity. Come home to Jesus Christ today!
Pastors Pen 7/29/20
The truth is - all time really is short. We need to make the most of the time that we have, so I want to close with this thought. Have you ever considered the fact that if you are not a Christian, if you have never trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you have never established a relationship with Him, the only day you can do that is today. You may be thinking, "Oh no, I can do that tomorrow." No, you can't. If you do that tomorrow, tomorrow will then be today, so you can only do it today anyway. So why not today?
Today
The psalmist says "This is the day which the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24, Do you see the word, "will?" Regardless of your circumstances, you ought to willfully take time every day to enjoy the time you have in that day. Do you know what the psalmist was really saying here? "Every day I am going to take time to smell the roses." I realize that is very tough to do particularly in our society, because we are one busy people. Everyday in America...
108,000 of us move to a different home and 18,000 people to another state…..
The United States Government issues 50 more pages of regulations……
40 Americans turn 100...
About 5800 become 65.…
8000 try to forget their 40th birthdays….
167 businesses go bankrupt while 689 start new ones…..(This was before Covid 19)
The Smithsonian Institute adds 2500 things to its collections…..
Americans purchase 4500 new automobiles and trucks and smash 87,000.….
6300 couples get divorced while 13,000 get married……
Dogs bite 11,000 people including 20 mail carriers……
We eat 75 acres of pizza, 53 million hot dogs, 167 million eggs, 3 million gallons of ice cream and 3000 tons of candy, then we also jog 17 million miles and burn 1.7 billion calories while we are doing it.

Yes, we are all busy - from young adults to senior adults. Some things never change. Whether or not you enjoy today is up to you, not your circumstances. It is amazing how much sweeter your day is and how much better your day is and how much more enjoyable your day is when you force yourself to take time to rejoice in the Lord and to spend time with Him and just thank Him for His goodness. If you do not learn how to rejoice in every day and take whatever comes, believing that God can use it for your good, you are going to live a very short life in a very long time.

I heard about a man who went to see a doctor and the doctor said, "I have some terrible news for you. You have a terminal illness and you only have six months to live." The man said, "Doctor is there anything you can do for me?" He said, "No, there is nothing I can do. There is no cure for your illness." In desperation the man said, "Is there anything you could recommend that I do that might make my time easier?" He said, "I can only tell you what I would do." He said, "Okay, tell me, because whatever it is I'll do it." He said, "First of all, I would go find a woman who isn't the least bit pretty, who had at least seven kids and marry her." The man wrote that down. He said, "Then I would move to the most barren part of West Texas and I would find a farm and buy it." He wrote that down. Then he said, "I would buy 100 of the most foul smelling pigs I could and I would spend the rest of my time raising those pigs." He wrote that down. The man said, "Doctor, let me make sure I understand this. If you were me, you would go try to marry a big woman, who was not in the least bit pretty, who had at least seven kids, buy a farm in the middle of barren West Texas, and then buy one hundred stinking pigs to raise. Is that right?" The doctor said, "That is what I would do." The man said, "Doctor, will that prolong my life and make me happy?" The doctor said, "No, but it will be the longest six months you've ever lived!"
Pastors Pen 7/22/2020

How Much Do You Know About The Bible?
Nehemiah 8:7 "Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place." It is tragic the knowledge and understanding many Christians have of the Bible. A survey by the Barna Research Group found that many Christians have a woeful knowledge of the Bible. Among those surveyed, 22% thought there is a book of Thomas in the Bible and 13% said they did not know whether Thomas is a book of the Bible or not. Three quarter of those surveyed knew that the Book of Isaiah is located in the Old Testament, while 11% thought it was in the New Testament and 13% did not know where it could be found. 61% knew that Jesus was born in Bethlehem while 16% named Jerusalem and 8% named Nazareth, and 6% did not hazard a guess. In a Gallup Poll, only 3 out of 5 Christians could recall the first four books of the New Testament and only half correctly identified Jesus as the person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
Nehemiah 8:8 "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."
I think about the candidate for deacon who was asked what part of the Bible he liked the best. He said, "I like the New Testament the best." Then he was asked what book in the New Testament he liked the best and he replied, "I like the Book of Parables the best." He was then asked to share one of the parables to the committee and he replied, "Once upon a time a men went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves; and the thorns grew up and choked the man. And he went on and met the Queen of Sheba, and she gave that man, Sir, a thousand talents of silver, and a hundred changes of raiment. And he got into his chariot and drove furiously, and as he was driving under a big tree, his hair got caught in a limb and left him hanging there. And he hung there many days and nights. The ravens brought him food to eat and water to drink.
And one night while he was hanging there asleep, his wife Delilah came along and cut off his hair, and he fell on stony ground. And it began to rain, and rained forty days and nights. And he hid himself in a cave. Later, he went on and met a man who said, 'Come in and take supper with me.' But he said, 'I can't come in, for I have married a wife.' And the man went out into the highways and hedges and compelled him to come in! He then came to Jerusalem, and saw Queen Jezebel sitting high and lifted up in a window of the wall. When she saw him she laughed, and he said, 'Throw her down out of there," and they threw her down. And he said, 'Throw her down again," and they threw her down seventy-times seven. And the fragments they picked up filled twelve baskets full." The committee all agreed that the fellow was a knowledgeable candidate.
Our lack of knowledge and understanding of the Bible is tragic. The Bible is God's Word to us. What God says in very important to us; therefore, we need to know what God is saying to us.
The Pastors Pen 7/15/2020

Activity for God versus Intimacy With God
I heard about a lady who was preparing Christmas cookies, and there was a knock at the door. She went out to find a man in thin, gaunt, and tattered clothes. She asked him what he wanted. He said, "Ma'am, I'm looking for some odd jobs just so I could buy some Christmas gifts for my family. Do you have anything I could do for you?" She said, "Can you paint?" He said, "Well yes, in fact, I'm a pretty good painter." She said, "Right behind you are two gallons of paint and a brush and there is a porch outback that needs to be painted. If you'll paint it and do a good job, I'll pay you $300." He said, "That means so much to me and I'll do the job as quickly as I can."
She went back to her cookie-making and didn't think much more about it until there was a knock at the door. She opened it and it was obvious that the man had done his job because he had paint all over his clothes. She said, "Did you finish the job?" He said, "Yes ma'am." She said, "Did you do a good job?" He said, "Ma'am, it doesn't even look the same." She said, "Wonderful. Here's your $300 and Merry Christmas." He started to leave, but then turned back and said, "Lady, there is one thing I would like to point out to you." She said, "What's that?" He said, "That's not a Porsche back there, that's a Mercedes."
Sometimes we think we are doing good work for the Lord when all along we were at the wrong place doing the wrong work. How do we know where the Lord wants us? How do we know what He wants us to do? How can we avoid doing the wrong things?
There are three reasons why many have activity for God instead of intimacy with God.
1. We confuse activity for God’s work. Just because we are busy at church and doing “God’s” work doesn’t mean that we are doing what He wants us to do. For example we can be at church every night of the week, but miss time with our family who needs our Godly influence. A church can have many programs and have many activities but that doesn’t mean they are not doing the work and ministry that God wants them to be doing.
2. We think activity brings us closer to God. Doing good works doesn’t bring us closer to God. The only way to know God is to spend time with Him. That means we have to get alone and read His word and spend time in prayer. Activity without intimacy with God, even such good things as visiting hospitals, nursing homes and helping orphans and widows cannot draw us closer to the Lord.
3. We think that activity means godliness. Godliness means to be like God, to have His character. We can only be like God when we spend time with God. We cannot be godly by doing godly things, we can only be godly by spending time with God in a personal and intimate way.
How do we know what God wants us to do? John 15:5 "Without Me Ye can do nothing..." First of all understand that without Jesus you can have a lot of activity but it will amount to nothing.
John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."  Jesus followers hear His voice and they follow His lead, even if it doesn’t make any sense. Jesus know us and we know Him because we have spent time in His word and in prayer. He knows what each one of us can do and will help us to do just what fits us.
The Pastors Pen
7/8/2020
Christian do you fear sin? If you truly love Jesus you will not want to do anything that will disappoint Him. I know that each day we sin by our thoughts, our words, our actions. But there are some things we know that God would not approve, these are the sins that we must be very careful to avoid. Murder, theft, hate, lying, bad language, hateful words, dishonesty, lust, envy, laziness, and a lack of attention to the things of God are sins we can and should avoid as believers. Christian are you disappointing the Lord?
Are You Disappointing the Lord?

An Atheist farmer laughed at God. Made fun of his Christian farmer neighbors. He plowed his fields on the Lord's Day and never went to God's house. Worked all the time and mocked at God. One day he wrote a letter to the local newspaper and said, "I'm an Atheist. I don't believe there's a God in heaven. I have the biggest crop of anybody in the whole community. Far bigger crop than all. Here it is October and my harvest is bigger than all my Christian neighbors together. The wise editor who was a Christian responded to the letter by saying, "God does not settle His accounts in October."

The Bible says, "Be sure your sins will find you out." It's just a matter of time.

We have sown the seeds of pornography in America. No big deal. Just a few magazines. Just watching some pictures on the computer. But after a while the crops begin to come in and now we have child abuse and cases of child torture and murder. I have news for you, folks, on down the road it's going to get worse and worse. You reap later than you sow.

The devil wants you to think that if you sin and the sky doesn't fall in on you right then, everything is going to be alright. You sin and the devil says, "See, there's nothing going to happen to you. Everything is fine." But you reap later than you sow.

Some man has been stealing from his business. First time he stole nobody knew anything about it. He got by with it. So he stole some more. Nothing happened. He got by with it. But what he doesn't know is that he is already caught. They are waiting now for him. It's just a matter of time.

I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God...2 Cor 7:9 NASB 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation...: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Being sorry for sin is not repentance! For the Christian repentance is being grieved and so sorry that you have disappointed the Lord that you will not do it again. When the heart is changed, the life and actions will be changed too. The Corinthians made it evident that their sorrow was a godly sorrow, because it wrought in them great carefulness to avoid sin, and please God.

The Corinthians understood that there was no such thing as a “secret sin.” They knew that God was watching them and they feared sin! They feared sin because they loved God. They did not want to disappoint Him. When they did sin they had “Godly sorrow.”
Pastors Pen 7/1/2020

They Came Seeking God

Words from an Adrian Rogers sermon from around 1995. In Psalm 85:1-6 you have the prayer of a patriot. Here's a man praying for his nation. And he's praying for revival. I want to tell you I make no apology whatsoever for being a red-blooded, flag-waving American patriot. I believe it is logical, I believe it is reasonable, I believe it is Biblical to be patriotic. A roving reporter came up to a man on the street and said, "Do you know what the two biggest problems in America are?" The pedestrian said, "I don't know and I don't care." The reporter said, "You have them both." Amen.

The two biggest problems in America: number one is ignorance and number two is apathy. People don't know and they don't care. And we have people today who believe, "Well you're not supposed to be patriotic. Somehow everything's just supposed to be one big globe, one world. Somehow if we're patriotic that's almost un-Christian. We're told today that you can't be a Christian and love your country. Well that's ridiculous. Absolutely unmitigated folly.

Now when I love my country that doesn't mean I don't love other countries. When I want God to bless America that doesn't mean that I don't want other countries to be blessed. It just means that America is my father land. This is the land of my birth and this is the land of my loyalty and the land of my responsibility. I love all people, but one day I'm going to have to stand before God and give account for myself. So I've got to look out and make certain that I'm right with God because I can't answer for you and you can't answer for me. I love your family, but the Bible says if I provide not for my own, especially of those of my own house I have denied the faith. I am worse than an infidel. And when I have a responsibility and a loyalty to my family that doesn't mean I love your family any less. That just means that I have an assignment from God. That is, my family.

I love all churches, but dear friend, I have a responsibility to Bellevue church, because this is my church. I'm a member of this local body. If I don't love it, pray for it, support it, and under gird it, then I have failed; I have sinned against God. I love all the countries of the world. But this is the home, the land of our birth, and our God given assignment. We can pray it, mean it, say it, sing it, shout God bless America. Listen, folks, I want to tell you, I still want to stand at attention when old glory goes by. And I still get a lump in my throat when we pledge allegiance to that flag, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I still don't mind getting a little wet in the corner of my eye when they sing the Star Spangled Banner. And I hope I never do get cold or indifferent about these things. I say it and I really believe it, folks. We live in the greatest nation on earth.

Why is America great? Because we have greater natural resources? Other nations have great natural resources. Because Americans are smarter? Yankee ingenuity. No folks. Why has God blessed America? God has blessed America because America has been built on certain basic God-given principles and presuppositions. No country ever had such a Christian beginning as America. The American dream was placed in the bosom of our founding fathers by Almighty God. America is different because of its beginning.

In 1620 when those Pilgrim Fathers came to these shores, they came for a specific purpose. They came on that little ship the Mayflower and they went down into the cabin of the Mayflower and they wrote out a document called the Mayflower Compact. This, this document that they wrote begins in these words, "In the name of God, Amen." That's the way they began. And in the Mayflower Compact they said this, that their coming to the colonies was for, and I quote "For the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith." That is why they came to these shores. A South American president was talking with Roger Batson, a leader of yesteryear, and they were discussing the difference between South America and North America.

You know our land has been so blessed. South America, while composed of many great nations and mighty natural resources, has lagged far behind North America. And so they were discussing the difference. And Roger Batson said to this South American president, "What do you think the difference is?" That South American president wisely said, "I'll tell you the difference." He said, "Those who settled South America came to South America because they were seeking for gold. Those who came to North America came to North America because they were seeking God."—Adrian Rogers.
Pastors Pen 6/24/2020

The Bible is the word of God.
I read about a young preacher who had just graduated from seminary. He was determined to follow his old professor's advice to simply preach the Bible week by week. Well, the crowds were kind of average. Then one day a tornado came through that little town, and this young preacher yielded to the temptation to preach on the subject, "Why God sent the tornado." that Sunday the church was packed. This shook the young preacher. He went back to ask his old professor for further advice on how to preach in light of what had happened. He said, "Proffessor, should I continue to preach the Bible week by week like you told me? Or, should I start preaching sermons on sensational themes so I can draw a crowd?" That old professor gave him some wonderful advice. He said, "Son, if you preach the Bible only, you'll always have something from God to say. But if you wait for tornadoes, you might have a lot to talk about but you will have nothing from God."
The Bible is not like any other book. It’s not a textbook, though it does contain texts. It’s not a history book though it does contain history. It is not a science book, though it is scientifically accurate. It is not just a biography, though it does contain the last three years of the life of Christ and has stories about many other people. The Bible is not just a book about archeology, even though archeology has proven it to be true. No, the Bible is much more than any of these things. The Bible is simply and profoundly and above all other things… The word of God! That’s all that it claims to be. That’s all that it needs to be. That’s all we would want it to be if we knew enough to want it.
The Bible is eternal. Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Jesus put His stamp of approval on it. Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. The word of God is in those who know Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
I was watching a documentary that supposedly showed the fact that it was the church leaders who decided what books would be in the New Testament only by the politics of the time. But according to the Bible, God moved men to put the Bible together that we have. 2 Peter 1:21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
The Bible is the only book that won’t have a new modern updated rendition. Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
While there might be new translations, there won’t be a new addition to the Bible. The Bible is simply, yet profoundly, the word of the living God.
Pastors Pen 6/17/2020

Grace
A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of WWII, was called by adoring New Yorkers 'the Little Flower' because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character who used to ride the New York City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the New York newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids.

One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.

Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. "It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor." the man told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson." LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions--ten dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat.

Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant." So the following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.
Thank God that you don’t have to steal bread to live physically. But like the lady who was desperate for bread for her family, are you desperate for the bread of life? Will you do anything to get it? The good news is that you don’t have to do anything but receive it. John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. The bread of life will never run out. You will never be spiritually hungry again once you have the bread of life…the Lord Jesus Christ!
Pastors Pen 6/10/2020

How To Do More
I Chronicles 4:9-10 …And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
Jabez evidently looked around at the circumstances of his life and said, "I believe I was born for more than this. I believe God has more for me than this and if He does, I want to get in on it." It breaks my heart to know that there are people who are looking forward to retirement, so they can do less. Jabez wasn't looking to do less. He was looking to do more. He wasn't looking to slow down. He was looking to speed up. In effect, what he was saying was, "Oh God expand my opportunities and my impact in such a way that I can touch more lives for your glory and do more for your honor."
This was not a selfish prayer. This is so important to understand. Jabez did not want more - just to have more. He wanted to have more so that he could do more. He did not want to get to keep. He wanted to get to give. He wanted more, so he could do more for the Glory of God. I am convinced that too many churches and too many Christians live under a cloud of complacency and sleep in a cocoon of comfort. They are satisfied with walking when they could be running. They are satisfied with running when they could be flying. I pray God will never let me get there in my life.
I read a story one time about an Indian who found an eagle's egg and put that egg into the nest of a little prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with that brood of prairie chickens and grew up with them. All of his life, this eagle thinking that he was a prairie chicken did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seed. He clucked and cackled. He would never fly more than a few feet off of the ground because that is how prairie chickens were supposed to fly. Years passed and this eagle grew very old. One day, he saw one of the most magnificent birds he had ever seen in his life. There in the cloudless sky, hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, this bird soared with scarcely a beat of those strong golden wings. He thought to himself, "What a beautiful bird!" The eagle said to one of his prairie chicken brothers, "What is that bird?" The prairie chicken replied, "Oh, that is an eagle. He is the chief of all birds, but don't even give him a second thought. You could never be like him." So this eagle never gave it another thought and he died thinking he was a prairie chicken.
One of the biggest problems today with teenagers is they want to be a part of the "in" crowd. They want to be accepted by the group and I certainly understand that. We all felt that way, but I would like to say a word to all of our young people. Eagles don't fly in flocks or formations. They don't depend on a group for their existence or their esteem. Geese fly in flocks and ducks fly in formation, but God hasn't called us to be geese or ducks. God has called us to be eagles. Flying alone if we have to, but always soaring above the level of mediocrity.
Put simply, we do not need to pray for tasks equal to our powers. We need to pray for powers equal to our tasks and that is exactly what Jabez did. This article is from James Merritt’s sermon “Ordinary or Extraordinary.“
Pastors Pen 6/3/2020
You distort the truth about God when you mope around and act like your world is falling apart when something bad happens to you. Life is an endurance race. It is not a sprint. A long distance runner has pain, but He keeps on going. He cannot finish the race if He is worries about what is going on around him, He must focus on the finish. Hebrews 12:1 says Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Keep your focus on Christ and everything else will get smaller. Every problem will shrink compared to the glory of knowing Christ.
Why Would Anyone Want To Be A Christian?

During a Wednesday night Bible study a great question was asked….."Why would anyone want to be a Christian if they see the same bad things happening to Christians that happen to everyone else?"

Today we live in a sin cursed world. But I to make it clear, bad things don't happen to good people. Bad things happen to all people because the Bible says there is none good but God. So according to the Bible there are no good people.

So then let me try to explain why bad things happen to God's people. God allows bad things to happen to His people for several reasons. It could be to encourage others, to cause others to want the peace that Christians have. They may wonder where Christians get their strength during crises and that strength can bring others to seek that same comfort.

When bad things happen you can choose to let that experience bring you closer to Jesus or you can chose to turn to doubt and fears. But when you turn to God and as your personal relationship with Jesus grows stronger, you won’t be saying "what is happening to me?" but "what is God going to do to show about Himself through me." God does not bring us around trials or over trials but always through them!

The closer you walk with Jesus the safer you become, not from trials coming your way, but from trials OVERCOMING your way. When you walk with Jesus, you just don't pay that much attention to what is happening TO you, but you become more aware of what God is doing for others THROUGH you.

Why would God allow and even a young child to suffer and die? He saved the apostle Peter but He let James be martyred. He let John have a long life but all the other apostles were martyred. He chose David to be king and passed on his other 11 brothers. He lets one missionary serve for 50 years among natives, but Jim Elliot was killed as soon as he set foot on the shore of his mission field at the age of 23. One person has a long life and another has a very short life.

We don’t understand...but let me add.... nor do we need to!!!! Trust God’s sovereign will is best for each of us because of Romans 8:28. “All things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to His purpose.“ We know that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts.
Pastors Pen 5/27/2020

Itching Ears
Now that many of us are sort of back in church I thought I would give you this article today. 2 Timothy 4:3 but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. John Macarthur wrote…..“There are a lot of people who look for a church that will preach what they want to hear, rather than what they need to hear. Every church has the "itchy ear" syndrome.” “There are so many church members today who are more concerned about the length of the sermon than they are the depth of the sermon.” “One preacher expressed his own distaste for long sermons. January the first was coming, and so he made up his mind that he would do better in the coming year. He said, "That means wasting less time listening to long sermons, and spending much more time preparing short ones." People, I've discovered, will forgive even poor theology as long as they get out before noon.”
"Unfortunately, that perfectly sums up the predominate attitude behind much of modern ministry. Bad doctrine is tolerable, a long sermon most certainly is not. The timing of the benediction is of far more concern to the average church-goer than the content of the sermon. Sunday dinner and the feeding of our mouth take precedence over Sunday School and the nourishment of our souls. Long-windedness has become a greater sin than heresy.
There are churches who even base their calling of a pastor on how long his sermons are. I heard about a church who wanted a man that wouldn't preach very long, and they heard about a certain man who had this reputation. They went to hear him, and he preached for fifteen minutes. They said, "That's the man we want." Well, they invited him to come and be their preacher, and the first Sunday he preached for half an hour. They said, "We are going to have to keep an eye on him."
The next Sunday he preached for three hours. They had a deacon's meeting and asked him to come and explain himself, as to why he was preaching so long. He said, "Well, it's like this. The first Sunday you heard me, I had just had all my teeth pulled, and my gums were very sore, and I could only preach for fifteen minutes." He said, "The second time I just got my new dentures, and they didn't fit very well and they hurt. So I could only preach for half an hour."
They said, "Yes, but we want to know about this time you preached for three hours." He said, "Well, I'm sorry about that. I got my wife's teeth in by mistake."
The fact is, for many church members today, tact is more important than truth. Diplomacy is more important than doctrine. Being polite is more important than being profound.
I urge you to pray for your pastor that he might preach God’s word without fear or compromise.
Pastors Pen 5/20/20

Believe In or Believe on
John 6:28-29 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe ON him whom he hath sent.
If you have ever flown they never demonstrate the use of a parachute, because they usually don't have any. But let's say that this flight has parachutes. Everyone has one available. Suddenly the wings fall off of the plane. One man puts on His parachute and pleads with the others to do likewise. Some of the passengers ignore the parachute, some just look at the parachute, some hold it, and only a very few actually put it on. Those that put it on have committed their lives to that parachute. That have put it ON signifying their complete faith and trust in the parachute.
The waters are raging all around you…A helicopter comes to get you, they lower a harness. Do you ignore the harness? I don’t think so… do you just grab the harness and hold on? No, to be saved you must put the harness ON. Then you can safely get into the helicopter.
Let me give you another illustration. A building was on fire. A brave group of firefighters made a narrow metal bridge from one roof to the roof of the burning building. Almost 20 children were on the burning roof. The firefighters told the children “One at a time I want you to get on our backs and we will take you to safety.” No one stepped forward for it was 60 stories straight down and 50 feet across. The fireman told the children…. “Do you believe we can do it?” The children said “yes, we believe you can do it.“ “Then what are you waiting for?“ The fireman asked. “I believe you can do it but you might fall with me.” One young boy said. The firemen replied “we promise, we will not drop you.“ Finally one brave young boy jumped on. And one by one they were all carried on the backs of the firemen to safety.
The point is many believe IN someone or something, but believing enough to get on is entirely a different matter. Believing on means you have to put your complete faith and trust in something.
Many people believe in Jesus as a person, they believe that He lived and died on the cross and all that Bible stuff but they haven’t believed ON Him. Just believing in Jesus won’t be enough. We have to take that step of faith and get on board. We have to be just like the boy who stepped out and put his entire faith and trust in that fireman.
You might one day have to put on a lifesaving parachute, you might have to put on a lifesaving harness, you might have to jump on the back of a fireman. But to escape a fate worse than falling or drowning, burning in an everlasting hell, we must put ON the person that hung on that lifesaving cross .…Jesus Christ . We must put our complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ and trust Him alone for our salvation.
Again, when the Bible talks about faith it doesn't mean believing IN something; it means believing ON someone. We believe ON Jesus Christ! Do you see the difference? It’s the difference between life and death.
Pastors Pen 5/13/2020

Victory In Such A Time As This

by Lane Palmer
Point #1 - In the aftermath of the worst devastation, God does his biggest miracles
In the pages of the Bible, human tragedy, pestilence, disease and natural disasters is almost always followed by miraculous transformation. Consider the story of the world-wide flood. When everything on the planet and everyone on it were destroyed by a flood, God brought about a new existence for mankind through Noah and his family. He wiped the slate clean through destruction and gave mankind a fresh start. Every rainbow is a reminder of this. This may be the biggest example, but there are countless more in the Bible...
Through the ten plagues in Egypt God delivered his people from slavery
Through the destruction of Jericho came the birth of a new nation in a promised land
Through the death of Christ came the salvation of all mankind
Through the horrific judgments in Revelation will come the Eternal Kingdom.
Focus on the fact that the God who accomplished all these things is the same God who somehow, some way, will accomplish good in the midst of evil.

Point #2 - Every human tragedy has its root in humanity’s fall, but evil will one day be eradicated.
I believe it is important to highlight the Biblical worldview tenet that when Adam sinned, he planted the seed that will continue to produce the weeds of sin in society. As the Bible states in Romans 5:12:Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Think about that last phrase, "death passed upon all men, for all have sinned." The real catastrophe is not the corona virus but the chain reaction of transgression that Adam unleashed on this planet when he ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Up until then there was no death or tragedy. Yet someday God will contain the disastrous presence of sin in the darkness of hell. Every particle of evil will be compressed into the Lake of Fire where every sinner (apart from the grace of God go I) and every fallen angel will suffer the ultimate, eternal catastrophe. Your congregation needs to know that we cannot expect the ‘not yet’ in the ‘now’. Until that day, there will continue to be disease and tragedies, but praise God—there will be an ultimate end to the result of sin.

Point #3 - True hope can only be found in Jesus Christ.
God offers eternal life for those who trust in Christ for salvation. While there is no guarantee of safety in this life, there is a guarantee of salvation in the life to come, in Christ. Jesus Christ left his place of safety in heaven and entered into this dangerous world of wars, disease, earthquakes, hurricane, floods, violence, pestilences and death to give us hope by subjecting himself, and being the victim of a tragedy. The only innocent man to ever live died the most undeserved death - and the Father knows the pain of the loss of a son. While there is no guarantee of safety in this life, there is a guarantee of salvation in the life to come.

The bottom line in all this is that, while we cannot change the events of the Coronavirus, we can be used by God to bring about a Kingdom victory in such a time as this! Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Pastors Pen 5/6/2020

Who Is The Anti-Christ?

Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

This rebellious falling away from the truth of the word of God would prepare the way for the Antichrist. That is to say, the man of sin cannot be revealed and as far as the word itself is concerned, it could refer to a spiritual departure (falling away), or it could refer to a physical departure (the Rapture). Whichever way one understands it, it is an event that occurs before the man of sin is revealed.

Interestingly Paul does not use the title Antichrist for this man, but his description of him parallels John’s description of the Antichrist. “1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” In Revelation 13 has a detailed description of the Anti-Christ calling him the “beast.” This man of sin will lead the world into rebellion against God (v. 10), perform wonders through Satan’s power (v. 9), and finally will present himself as a god to be worshiped (v. 4).

We do not know where he will come from. Some think he must be from Europe. Some think he will be a Muslim. I think Muslim nations are too anti-semitic. They would never go into the Jewish temple but to the mosque. Muslims are too factional. They can’t get along with each other enough to get a great world-wide leader.

Some think he will be Jewish. He cannot be a Jew because he would not defame the temple and there is so much Anti-semitism in the world today. I believe he will be from Europe or that area because of the ten-headed dragon federation and Rome.

I think He will be someone like Emmanuel Macron of France in that he will have charm, personality and charisma. Right now, the European Union has the potential to be a leading economic power again and it was in 2018. But today it is falling apart and it needs a leader. They have 32 members now but many are going to drop out and follow Great Britain. I believe it will then get down to either ten nations or ten elite world leaders. Bill Gates, George Soros, etc…..

The UN is falling apart and needs a leader. The world is falling apart and it needs a leader. He could be from Russia. Some say Putin might be the anti-Christ. But I think he is Gog and will be killed in the Gog-Magog war that will happen just after the rapture or in the first of the tribulation. Of the Anti-Christ, the Bible says he will be the god of forces. So, it has to be Putin or a Muslim leader or even President Trump or an American. But Macron has a military to command and he can gather forces to battle.

The UN Security council has recently asked Emmanuel Macron to lead them. Pope Francis, who I believe is The False Prophet, and Emmanuel Macron are calling for the G7 and the G20 nations to get together. He is calling for Peace among the nations. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I think right now Emmanuel Macron is leading the way of the applicants. But I can be totally wrong also.

Bottom line is that I believe that definitely whoever he is, he is alive today. I believe he is leader today that we know very well.

The anti-christ will appear before Jesus returns for His church. He will sign a peace treaty with Israel to guarantee their safety. That is the beginning of the Tribulation period of seven years. The Tribulation is coming to bring sin to its full measure so that God can judge Israel and bring an end to their sin and full restitution for their sin and to judge this world once and for all and pave the way for the Lord Jesus to come and rule and reign in peace and prosperity. ARE YOU READY? The King Of Kings and Lord Of Lord Jesus Christ coming soon for His church!
The Pastors Pen 4/29/2020

The Blessed Hope—By Chad Thomas

Throughout the Bible, God tells us very clearly to be watchful for His soon return. In fact, He tells us that if we are watchful and sober, that day will not catch us off guard, but unfortunately, for most of the world it will catch them off guard:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 KJV – “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

We are also instructed to look for the ‘Blessed Hope’: Titus 2:13 KJV – “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Why are we told to look for that ‘Blessed Hope’? What is so ‘blessed,’ and why should our ‘hope’ be in it? I’ll tell you why, because it is an event where the Lord will remove Christians that are truly His before the coming judgement of God on this Christ-rejecting world. This judgment period is called ‘the Tribulation’ and will take place for seven-years. Those that have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are NOT appointed to this coming wrath:

1 Thessalonians 5:9 KJV – “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” Revelation 3:10-11 KJV – “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the Earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

We are told very clearly that we (Christians) are kept from the hour of temptation that shall come upon the whole world.

The word ‘Rapture’ is actually not in the Bible. The Rapture is very much in the Bible, you just have to know where to look. So, let’s look for it! 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 KJV – “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

So literally, you will be here one second, and the next, you will be transformed into your glorified body and meet Jesus in the air to go to Heaven! Wow!

In verse 17, the phrase “Caught Up” is translated from the Greek word ‘Harpazo’ and the Latin ‘Rapturo.’ That is the word from which we get ‘Rapture.’

So, when you summarize 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 literally, Jesus Christ himself is going to descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ are going to rise first (referring to those who are in Christ that are in the graves. They must rise from the ground to meet their spirits in the air for their glorified body). Then we which are alive and remain will be caught up (snatched away, plucked away) to meet Jesus in the air to be with Him in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 KJV – “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” How fast will this translation into our glorified bodies occur? You just read it in 1 Corinthians 15:52… “In a moment, in the twinkiling of an eye”.

After this, the Tribulation period occurs on Earth. The purpose of the Tribulation is for the salvation of the Jewish nation. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble… not the time of the Church’s trouble.

Think about it like this: If your child was on train tracks and you saw a train moving full speed toward them, you would snatch your kid out of harm’s way before that train hits. Likewise, Jesus is going to snatch us out of harm’s way before the seven-year Tribulation hits.

Why else should we be looking for that blessed hope, besides the fact that we will escape the wrath to come and be with Jesus forever? Well, because we will be getting brand new glorified bodies! No more death, no more pain, no more sorrow! I have met many that are in wheelchairs or disabled in other ways that say they can’t wait until the day they will get their new bodies! A day they can walk again! A day they can see again! A day they can move their arms again! Who is excited for this event to occur? It should encourage each and every one of us

John 14:1-3 KJV –” Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Keep watching with me… the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ is coming soon! –Chad Thomas
Pastors Pen 4/22/2020

Sick Of Yourself

We have a real sickness in the world. Covid 19 is real. But we have another serious sickness in America….it’s called being sick of yourself. How do you know if you have it? What are the warning signs? Are you more concerned with your needs and your wants than you are of the people around you? Then it gets worse; soon you will become so completely self absorbed and self concerned that you will become depressed, worried, and anxious. If it continues it will lead to drug or alcohol abuse, sexual perversion and abuse of yourself and others, and finally you will stop at nothing to satisfy self, even to harming yourself and others.

99.9 percent of the crimes committed today are committed by people who have this sickness.   They don’t care about anyone but themselves. Society once said that a lack of self esteem makes people commit crimes. Today they have discovered that most all criminals have a very high self-esteem. They believe the whole world revolves around them and they only care about getting what they want any way they can get it.

Christian, you are not immune from this sickness! When you begin to focus on your needs, your wants, your problems you too can become sick of yourself.    But it is not really a sickness, it’s just plain old sin.

The Bible gives us the cure for this sinful sickness.   According to the New American Standard Bible Galatians 5:13 says "For you, dear friends, have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your fleshly pleasures, but freedom to serve one another in love." My freedom in Christ was not given to enable me to pursue pleasures from others, but rather to SERVE others by loving them. The focus is not to be on ME and my gratification, but on the good of the other person. Instead of serving myself, I should use every opportunity to serve others. Then the great throne of self is toppled and we are finally free of the sin of self and cured of being sick of self and begin to serve God and others. 1 John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

When a person begins to focus on Jesus Christ and not on themselves then they become happy and fulfilled. Psalm 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Psalm 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.   Christian, it’s not all about you, It’s about those around you who need to see Jesus in you.
The Pastors Pen 4/15/2020

The Numbers That Do Not Lie
Since January 1^st, 2020, through April 5^th 2020 these are the world deaths PER DAY due to....

Abortion--91,063
Smoking--10,704
Working on the job--6,000
Alcohol--5,361
HIV/AIDS--3,598
Transportation accidents (driving or flying)--2,900
Suicides--2,297
Malaria--2,100
Seasonal Flu--1,305
Covid 19—1221*
*The Covid 19 Corona Virus as of May 5^th was killing 806 per day. If the total deaths by April 15^th are at 116,000 which is a high estimate, the Covid 19 Corona Virus will be killing an estimated—1221 per day since January 10^th when the first deaths occurred..

As you look at all these numbers, the Covid 19 results don’t add up to the fear and the shut down of our economies world wide. We don’t stop driving cars or flying in planes due to fear of death. The mobility and economic gain is well worth the risk to the population. We try to limit, but we don’t stop drinking alcohol or outlaw smoking. The economic gain and personal need makes it absolutely worth the risk to addicted people.

You know that 50% of the people die going into an Abortion clinic and we don’t close them. People still have unprotected and dangerous sex because the risk of getting HIV to them is worth it. 6,000 people die every day at the work place. But the financial gain is worth the risk. People die from the Flu in great numbers. We have vaccines and medicines to combat it but we know that the only real way to limit deaths from the Flu is quarantining but we have never done that. It’s not worth the cost to our economy…. so we live with it.

Numbers don’t lie. We are all going to die someday unless Jesus comes first. But we cannot live in fear of death. Of course, we have to use caution and wisdom. And Quarantining is necessary at times —-when the cure is better than the disease.

As dangerous as driving and working is, we don’t quarantine it because the alternative will cause more suffering due to economic disaster. Will the cure for Corona virus, quarantining the world, be worse than the disease? Hmmm. Corona Virus…. 1,221 deaths per day and it may wind up killing 200,000 world-wide. The Flu already kills between 290,000 to 650,000 every year. Hmmm.

Every week the government experts tell us more inflated virus numbers that they keep revising down. Remember the 2.2 million deaths predicted? Then the 1.2 million deaths predicted? It will double every two days they said! Then it was 250,000 deaths, then it was 25,000. Last week it was the next Pearl Harbor! None of this happened!!

Is the cure worse than the disease? Well numbers don’t lie. We now know that more will suffer from a crashed economy than from this particular virus. Economists say the crash of 2020 could dwarf the crash of 1929 in bank failures, unemployment, stock losses, despair and suicide. They are predicting forty percent unemployment in our country!

Some feel you should never let a good crisis go to waste. I believe some are using this crisis for their own nefarious intentions. To unknowingly or knowingly set this world up for the anti-Christ world leader to come. How easy it was to control people they have discovered. How easy it will be now to get them to take a mark if we guarantee them safety. Peace and safety the Bible says will be the cry in the last days. We are already there. The numbers do not lie.

Numbers don’t lie in the Bible either. It rained forty days and forty nights. Israel roamed the desert for forty years. Jesus was forty days tempted in the wilderness. One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism. Jesus rose on the Third day. Jesus will rule this earth for one thousand years. Psalms 34:4 – “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from ALL my fears.” The sum of all these numbers…..Jesus Christ is ALL and in ALL!
Pastors Pen 4/8/2020

Getting Even

After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger woman. The downtown luxury apartment was in his name and he wanted to remain there with his new love so he asked the wife to move out and then he would buy her another place.

The wife agreed to this, but asked that she be given 3 days on her own there, to pack up her things. While he was gone, the first day she lovingly put her personal belongings into boxes and crates and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.

On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their candlelit dining table, soft music playing in the background, and feasted on a pound of shrimp and a bottle of Chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few of the resulting shrimp shells into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

The husband came back, with his new girl, and all was bliss for the first few days. Then it started; slowly but surely. Clueless, the man could not explain why the place smelled so bad. They tried everything; cleaned & mopped and aired the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned, air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in, the carpets were replaced, and on it went.

Finally, they could take it no more and decided to move. The moving company arrived and did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their new home...including the curtain rods!

You cannot escape the judgment of God no matter how much you try to escape or how far you go. No matter how you clean up or how hard you try to make everything new you cannot get away from the stench of sin. You may think a new job, a new spouse, a new location, a new toy will make you happy. But the stench of sin will follow you everywhere and it stinks up everything you have!

God will get even with you. No matter how far you go or how much you cover up..... God’s judgment is waiting on you. There is only one way to get rid of it the stench of sin. We give our sin to Jesus Christ and let Him make us brand new, cleansed from sin and smelling fresh as a daisy to God! Christian, is sin, disobedience, and laziness stinking up your life? Then repent and Jesus will restore you and clean you up. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.

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alt: 606-477-4076
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Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church

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