Good Words from God’s Word
 
We are starting a new Bible study on Wednesday nights as a part of the Share Our Savior (SOS) emphasis in our church. The study is entitled “TELL SOMEONE.” This past Wednesday night all who participated learned that sharing Jesus with others is FUN. The Bible says so, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of see, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6). Why do we think that telling others about Jesus is such drudgery? If we do not share, we do not get the joy that heaven makes available to us. The devil wants us to believe that telling others about Jesus is dull and without any award. Statistics tell us that 95% of all believers never share Jesus with another person. THAT’S UNBELIEVABLE! Satan does a good job keeping us from heaven’s joy. More than 9 out of 10 followers of Jesus rob themselves of the joy that comes only through when you TELL OTHERS about the Savior.
 
The Bible also says, “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God is eager to spread His joy around. When we TELL SOMEONE about Jesus, God sends a fresh disbursement of His joy. One reason there are so many discouraged, unhappy, and disappointed believers is that they lack a fresh infusion of God’s hilarious joy. I want you to be happy; I mean really happy in the Lord. That’s why we are learning more about sharing Jesus through this new Bible study, TELL SOMEONE. It’s all about receiving God’s joy.
 
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, received word from his converts that they were coming home after witnessing in the streets. They were disappointed and discouraged saying, “We’ve tried everything. We’ve tried preaching on street corners, beating drums, passing out tracts, and nothing works. Mr. Booth sent them a telegram that said, simply, “Try Tears.” 
 
Now, I do not know how sowing seed with tears turns into the joy of the Lord in your soul. That has to be one of the miracles of the Christian life. It is beyond our understanding. I accept it by faith, because I have experienced it in my heart. Caring for those who need to hear about Jesus, turns into profound joy when you tell other about Jesus. Such joy is a gift from God’s heart. I hope to see you on Wednesday night this week when we look together in God’s word and learn better how to share our faith.
 
IT’S GOING TO BE FUN.

GOOD WORDS FROM GOD’S WORD
 
I need to say once again THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Last Sunday night’s Valentine Banquet was incredible. Of course, it would not have happened in the smooth, organized way that it did without the help of our wonderful volunteers. Thank you young people for the outstanding service you provided waiting on the table, attending to the children in the pre-school area, and helping meet the needs of everyone who participated. 
 
Then there are the adults who worked in the kitchen area filling plates and managing the food. Thank you goes out to Ken and Debra Pethel, Caroldean Childers, Doug and Bertha Hutson and all the others who pitched in to help. It was a miracle of energy and organization to watch our people feed the almost 80 people with salad, main entrée, and desert in just over 30 minutes. I could not help but wonder if Jesus’ feeding the 5 thousand did not look something like what happened in our church Sunday night.
 
Certainly, crowning our Grace Baptist Church Valentine King and Queen deserves a special word of gratitude. Thank you Josh and Elaine Dixon for providing the spectacular jeweled crown for our king, Carl Lyle and the sparkling silver tiara presented to his radiant wife, Joann. This wonderful couple was recognized as having been married longer than any other couple in attendance. We celebrate their marriage of 57 years by crowning them King and Queen in your hearts.
 
Thank you is deserved by the Anchor Sunday School Class for your superb hosting of the ALMOST NEWLY-WED GAME. It was an amazing display of humor at the expense of our four engaged couples, Richard McLawhorn and Rosa Burgess, Wesley Garrin and Sara Beth Ferguson, Cole Pace and Emily Smith, and Josh Hall and Ashley Thain. I will never forget the “DOG” question and the one groom-to-be who likened his fiancé to a Chihuahua. You may want to ask Wesley Gerrin for clarification on that one. Thank you is appropriate to Mike House and all the efforts his class made to put the game together, get all the contestants to the banquet and provide for all of us a delightful time of laughter and fun.
 
There are certainly others who deserve to be thanked for their help in putting up tables, providing decorations, selling tickets and managing all the arrangements. We should all thank those who work at Loretta’s next door for their preparation of the excellent meal and generous monetary donation to our church ministry. Next time you enjoy a meal over next door at Loretta’s, express your thanks to them for their service to the ministry here at Grace.

Good Words from God’s Word

As much as we talk about love today, we have a difficult time getting it right. God always gets it right.  God’s love is, “…patient.” His love is “…kind and is not jealous.” God’s love “…does not brag and is not arrogant.” The love of God never acts, “unbecomingly;” nor does it“…seek its own way.” It is never “provoked.” God’s love “…does not take into account a wrong suffered,” and it never rejoices in “…unrighteousness.” It always, “…rejoices in the truth.” God’s love “…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” God’s love “…never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

We can love like that because we have been loved like that, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:16). The Bible tells us that we ought to not just talk about love, but we should love others through our deeds and the way we behave (1 John 3:18). We can on this Valentine day truly love one another because Jesus “…laid down His life for us so we can lay down our lives for others” (1 John 3:16). Real love is sacrificial.

I read a story about a wife who woke her husband up frantically shaking him into consciousness saying, “Honey, Honey I just had a wonderful dream. I dreamed you gave me a real cultured pearl necklace. What do you think it means?” He said, “I don’t know. I’ll tell you tonight.” That night he brought home a small package beautifully wrapped. She eagerly opened it to find a small book entitled, “How to Interpret Your Dreams.”

I hope your loved ones do not have trouble interpreting your love for them. Show them how much you love them in ways they cannot mistake. It is not the size or the cost of a gift that really matters. It is the way whatever you give reflects the love in your heart. Let’s love one another this Valentine Day in a way that will let people see the love of Christ in us.

Good Words from God’s Word
 
Are you a confident Christian? The book of James talks about believers who lack confidence, “…if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6). Sometimes our doubts rob us of the confidence we would like to have. Lack of faith leaves you restless and unstable.
 
The story is told of Jim who worked at a radio station all his life. He was a well-known and famous radio show host. All of his friends and colleges knew him by one feature: if he’s on-air, he is always wearing a suit and a tie.
 
One day Jim was invited to appear on the TV. There was going to be a show totally dedicated to the oldest radio employees. For the first time the people, who only knew him by his voice, would see him. Before the recording of the show, the director came to Jim and asked: “Usually you arrive on time, but today you are 10 minutes late. It’s not horrible, but I’m still interested, why?”
 
“You see,” Jim answered, “at the last moment when I was already dressed up, I noticed that I was not wearing new socks. For the first time I was invited to the television, and I thought that simply wearing clean socks is not enough. It needs to be in new socks.  So I needed to go to the store for socks.”
 
“But why do you need new socks?” The director was surprised. “You could have come without the socks, because we will be filming you only in close-up, over the waist.”
 
“You see, to be spotless on-air, I need to feel myself spotless in everything, starting with the shirt and finishing with the pen in my pocket. And if my socks have holes in them, or my shoes are dirty, I’m not spotless anymore.”
 
This is why the apostle John said in his letter, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Don’t let sin rob you of being confident today. Do not allow sin to stand in the ways of your worship and confidence in the Lord. Confess your sins. Let the Lord forgive you. Then you will have confidence to worship God in the fullness of His joy.