Just for your interest I thought I would let you know that Vision News is now 31 months old. We have now posted 1965 posts.
It is a great way to keep up with what is going on at Vision Baptist Church. If you are not subscribed I hope you will today. Get your friends to subscribe also.
February 28 2009 | General | No Comments »
I do hope it snows and they are talking about snow but then this is Atlanta. I would love to see snow but wanted to let you know that we will be having church regardless.
I doubt that it snows much. I doubt that it sticks. I know we like to get excited but let’s have church.
If we were to have a blizzard you can find out about services on here but I can tell you now that this is fun and hype but we will be having church. Bring a friend.
If it snows it will be even more fun to have church. God is going to excite and encourage you through Hebrews 9 tomorrow.
See you tomorrow!
February 28 2009 | General | No Comments »
1Chronicles 16:29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
David has just brought the ark to its new resting place. He and all the people are worshipping God. There are lots of things that could be said but this verse gives some secrets to what David was calling worship. Give the Lord the glory due His name! Bring an offering! Come before Him! Worship Him in the beauty of holiness!
I am meditating on these truths. How do we worship? Do we simply “go to church?” Do we think of worship as just the song service? What is worship?
David commanded them to give God the glory due His name. How do you do that? Do I ever take the glory when I sing well, preach well, give a good offering, make it to the service and almost think that God should be pleased with so much from me? Is that giving me glory or giving God glory? He is worthy to be praised. His name, His person is owed glory from us. We should think of ways to praise Him, to make Him be looked upon with praise, to lift His name high.
Tomorrow as you come to church come to glorify His name. Let’s glorify Him in the way we live, walk, talk, sing, act, and in every way. What glorifies Him? Come to the services to glorify God!
Bring an offering it says. I believe that is talking about more than money. We need to bring God something however. What will you bring Him tomorrow? Will you bring Him a broken and contrite heart? Will you bring Him an obedient and receptive heart? Will you bring Him your time, talents and treasure? Will you bring Him your love and devotion? Don’t come to worship without an offering!
Come before Him! Notice the idea is not to come to church or worship but to come before Him. Is that ever on our minds when we come to church? Do we really think of ourselves as coming before Him? If we really thought we were coming before God would we come the same way we are currently coming? Remember tomorrow you will not be coming before me, your family or your friends. You will be coming before God. This is not to be taken lightly.
Worship Him in the beauty of His holiness! That means to humble ourselves and to reverence Him. That means to give great honor and glory to Him. Sometimes we give more honor to a person on their birthday or their wedding anniversary than we do to God when we come into His presence.
I want us to worship Him and to do so in holiness. The key isn’t our building or environment but His holiness. That will help us describe or think about how we are to come. He is holy. We are coming to see Him and to worship Him.
I hope you will evaluate your worship. I know that I have been doing just that. I look forward to worshipping Him with you tomorrow. God bless each of you.
February 28 2009 | Daily Devos | No Comments »
1Chronicles 15:2 Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
David wanted with all of his heart to please God. He decided to bring the ark home. 1Chronicles 13:3 He did so the way he had seen the Philistines do so! 1Chronicles 13:7 They worshipped with all of their hearts and from their hearts. They were very sincere. 1Chronicles 13:8 The ark began to rock and appeared as though it would fall. Uzza, loving God and wanting to protect the ark, reached out his hands to steady the ark. Instead of being honored by his love, God killed him.
David was afraid. He didn’t understand. He had tried to honor God the best way he knew how and God had rewarded him by killing one of his good men. This displeased David. 1Chronicles 13:11 David decides to leave the ark there.
Now in the text of today we see David has studied and prepared himself in how to bring the ark home. He will do it right this time. The way God wants him to do so. Deuteronomy 10:8
The correlation for us is this. David first brings the ark the way the lost people had done. David didn’t consult with the Word of God until he had suffered the consequences of his mistake. I certainly do not have all the answers but challenge you to know several things.
We do not base our worship on what lost people want or how they would do it! That was David’s mistake.
We do not do what we think would be a good idea. That was another of David’s ideas.
We should study what the Bible says about what we should do more than we study culture, ours or theirs.
It doesn’t matter if it pleases us or not-David was displeased but what displeased David was that God was displeased and had made that abundantly clear.
This is no excuse for us not to work hard to make our worship services exciting because we come together to do the most exciting thing in the world, worship God.
To make the most exciting book in the world boring has to be one of the most horrible things that a church could do. However let us decide what to do based on the Word of God and not our preferences or what the people want.
It is the church of the Lord Jesus. Let’s search HIs book to find out all we can about what He wants.
February 27 2009 | Daily Devos | No Comments »
Jeremy Hall preached tonight. I have gotten several comments that really blessed and impressed me. John Pearson sent me a text saying; “The preacher looked like Jeremy Hall but preached like D. L. Moody.
Sherry Penland wrote to tell me the following; “Missed you too, but I might have found a new Bro Plate. Jeremy did an awesome job tonight. glad that I got to hear his last stateside message! It is amazing what God has done in him.”
I had preached a message one time telling them not to look at me, the preacher, but see the meat that was being served. I ask them to look at me like the plate and see the message. That is the reference to the plate and meant as a very high compliment.
Mark Coffey said that it was Jeremy’s best message yet. Praise God for what He is doing with His man, Jeremy.
February 26 2009 | Missions | No Comments »
Betty and I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina today to be with Stephanie Velke. As you know her dad is dying. She is one of our members, wife to David Velke, and future missionaries. I had been out of town on the Pastor’s Retreat that we led, then Jeremy Hall’s ordination. This was the only time that I could get away to come.
We took her out to eat and tried to encourage her and give her some special time tonight. I ask you to be praying for her in this very difficult times.
Also tomorrow Jeremy and Bekkah Hall will leave the USA on their way to Peru, their field of service. God bless them.
February 26 2009 | Prayer Requests | No Comments »
I have a friend who is on a missions trip to Thailand and Burma right now, and she got to visit the Karen village in Burma. When I saw the name of the village, I immediately thought of Sarah Boardman (who would later become Sarah Judson, Adoniram Judson’s second wife) and her work with the Karens, a nomadic people group that the Burmese considered inferior. Sarah and her first husband, George, were one of the first people to search for the Karens and reach out to them in the jungles of Burma.
Even when her first husband died and she had every excuse to leave Burma with her children or, at the very least, move back to where the mission base was, Sarah stayed with the Karens and persevered, even working alone for a time. More than one hundred and fifty years later, the Karens still bear the influence of Sarah Boardman and the missionaries who came after her. The pictures of these people are a testimony to Sarah’s faith and steadfastness even in the midst of difficulties. I just thought I’d share with ya’ll what a great example this missionary lady was of what it’s like to leave behind a lasting legacy.
-Tracy Paver
Karen Village
Karen Church
Karen Pastor and family
Karens going to church
February 26 2009 | Missions | No Comments »
1Chronicles 9:13 And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
In the midst of all the lists of names you find this interesting comment; “VERY ABLE men FOR the WORK of the SERVICE of the HOUSE OF GOD.†I thought to myself as I read this am I very able. I want to be used of God. Do you?
I really believe that the majority of you that read this as born again children of God are very able to do the work of God. I don’t really believe that the problem is our ability to be used of Him. He has made us able. He has empowered us to be used of Him. He has given us the Holy Spirit and His power. He has given us the Word of God and His church.
So what is the problem? I believe the problem is not ability but availability. How many of us are in the place that we could be used? Are you in the church where we can serve and find out what we can do? Are you where you need to be spiritually? Do you keep your sins confessed? Do you keep an open, on going relationship with the Lord Jesus in prayer and Bible reading?
It is not an ability problem but a lack of awareness. Many of us have the ability and the availability but we are not aware of our surroundings, the needs of others, or the will of God for our lives. How many of us spend time asking God and listening for Him to tell us what He would have us do?
The problem isn’t ability but attitude! We can be available, have the ability by God’s grace, and even be aware of Him, others, and be listening for His voice but what about our attitude? Do you have an attitude of service? Are you willing to be used and even abused by those that you serve? It takes a special attitude and spirit to be a servant. God wants to use you and has a plan. You are very able for His service but do you have an attitude of surrender?
Last step for today is to take action. You may have been given the ability, be available, be aware, and even have a good attitude but you will have to act on what God shows you to do. We are very able to do the work of God through His grace and His power. Will you today step out and begin doing the work He has called you to do?
February 26 2009 | Daily Devos | No Comments »
I am sure that more will be available later but for right now here is one picture of the ordination last night at Whitfield Baptist Church. Jeremy Hall got ordained by his home and sending church.
Mark Coffey, Tony Howeth, and I got to participate with Pastor Wayne Cofield and Whitfield Baptist in the ordination. Whitfield was my family’s sending church for over 18 years. They are wonderful friends and family.
Also Pastor Cofield sent me this picture of his grandson, Thatcher, with a note saying that Thatcher was taking after his pastor drinking diet Mountain Dew.
February 26 2009 | Missions | No Comments »
This morning when John Pearson arrived to teach a class and work on church projects at 5:45 am he found the church quite damaged and some articles stolen. He called 911. Here are some pictures of the damage.
It appears that our insurance is not going to cover much. We lost about $800 on the window replacement, the flat screen TV in the corner at the entrance and Ronald Tubillas’ computer from the Spanish Auditorium.
Makes me feel like we are back in Peru. Robberies at the church. God will work in this and we will see that He uses even this for His honor and glory.
Total loss is being estimated at $2,000!
February 26 2009 | Prayer Requests | No Comments »
