from our pastor & our pastor's wife

   On April 15th, a federal judge in Madison, Wisconsin ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.  U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb delivered the ruling on a lawsuit the Freedom From Religion Foundation—a group of atheists and agnostics—brought against former President George W. Bush and his administration. The foundation argued the day violates the separation of church and state.

   Is prayer really un-American?  Does President Bush get the credit for starting this religious revolution?  Actually, many “national days of prayer” have occurred in the U.S. prior to the Bush administration.  In 1775, the Continental Congress asked for a day of prayer “in forming a new nation.”  President John Adams declared May 9, 1798 as “a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer” during which citizens of all faiths were asked to pray “that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it.”

   On March 30, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring that:
   It is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. …

   We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!   

   On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each following president at an appropriate date of his choice. President Ronald Reagan amended the law in 1988 to specify the first Thursday of May as the official  National Day of Prayer so that the nation could unite to pray.

 
   So when did it become illegal and unconstitutional to ask the nation to pray?  Once again we see what happens when liberal, activist judges are appointed to the bench.  Instead of interpreting the intent of the U.S. Constitution, they apply a completely personal and arbitrary standard of judgment that seeks to inhibit the practice of religious faith in general, and Christianity in particular.  The First Amendment guarantees:  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  Asking citizens to pray is not an attempt to establish a state-run church.  On the contrary, the National Day of Prayer simply encourages our citizens to engage in their God-given and constitutionally guaranteed right to exercise their belief in the power of prayer.

   Judge Crabb’s decision should be a wake-up call to people of faith.  Specifically, I would suggest three courses of action.

    
   First, participate in the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 6th.  Three events that day will give everyone the opportunity to unite with their local community to pray.  At 7:00 a.m., Mesquite Mayor John Monaco will host a Mayor’s prayer breakfast at First United Methodist Church, 300 N. Galloway Ave., Mesquite.  The breakfast is free, but a reservation must be made by calling Judy Isbell in our church office (972)857-9707.  Next, we will pray at noon at Mesquite City Hall, 711 N. Galloway.  Finally, we gather at 7 p.m. for a community worship service at Family Cathedral of Praise, 790 Windbell in Mesquite.

    
   Second, contact your U.S. Senators [Hutchison and Cornyn in Texas] by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and let them know how you feel about the next Presidential nominee for U.S. Supreme Court.  As Justice John Paul Stevens retires, we should ask our Senators to support only those nominees who will show judicial restraint (sometimes called strict constructionist, originalist, or textualist).    

     
   Finally, we can still pray.  Even if it becomes illegal to do so as a nation, even if we continue to become “too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace,” we can always exercise civil disobedience by asking God to bless America once again.  Historically, it’s one of the most American things we can do.

Craig Christina

     God did it again, and all the praise and glory goes to Him.  Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church had an awesome Easter Sunday.  As Paul promised in Ephesians 3:20, it was “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”  The Spirit of the living God was palpable as we focused on how to be prepared for the hope of eternal life from Luke 24:13-35. 

     First, we must escape the confusion.  The disciples on the road to Emmaus were confused about the death and ressurection of Jesus.  We are sometimes confused about who God is and how we go to heaven.  Second, we must embrace the correction.  Jesus walked along the road with the disciples–though they did not recognize Him–and He used the Scriptures to teach them why the Messiah had to suffer, die, and be raised to life the third day.  Jesus had to pay for the sins we commit, and through His resurrection He forever defeated sin and death!  Third, we should enjoy the communion.  The disciples hearts burned within them as they walked on the road with Jesus, and it was only after they invited Him to stay that they recognized Him.  The only way we can find true joy and fulfillment is through a love relationship with Jesus.  Once we invite Him in and place our lives in His hands, we discover that “in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17).  [To listen to the message,  go to www.stbc.org and click on the tab "Messages Online"].

     I share the message first because the Good News about Jesus is what matters most.  Now, on to the numbers.  On Easter Sunday, we had over 1,100 people in worship, over 760 in Sunday School, over $70,000 in offerings, and six people joining our church family.  We celebrate that we had 200 more people in Sunday School this year than last year.  But even if we had the same number as last Easter, we would still praise the Lord that His message was proclaimed and that His people raised their voices to His praise.  Now, the challenge is to reach out to these visitors and encourage them to come back and get plugged into the Body of Christ.  Please, continue to be excited as you invite people to come this Sunday for a new sermon series entitled “Navigating through the Storms of Life.”

     Thank you to the ministerial staff and assistants who worked so hard all week to make Easter a special day.  In particular, thank you to:  Donnie Stribble, Adam Wood, choir and instrumentalists  for the beautiful music; to Donnie and Ginger Stribble for the beautifully decorated sanctuary (and to the anonymous donor who gave us 30 Easter lillies); to David Balyeat, Brandon Daniel, and all those who stuffed and distributed the door hangers (we had tons of first-time visitors!); to Scott McLaughlin and Robert Juarez for installing the video screens; to Scott and Jerry Allen for installing the new sound board; to Lisa Green and Children’s workers for the egg hunt; to David and Judy Isbell and the nursery workers for welcoming many new guests in the nursery with God’s love; to the choir for singing in both services; to Will Dewese for running sound in both services; to all the folks who parked in the “gold” parking lot down the street; to the ushers, greeters and Sunday School workers who made everyone feel welcomed; and to the people of Shiloh Terrace for inviting people to come and for your sweet, positive, joyful spirit.   

     No one can deny that God is at work in our church.  If we will continue to lift high the name of Jesus, I believe that many more exciting things are to come.  Thank you, Lord, for giving us so many reasons to praise Your holy name.  And may the season of harvest continue that Your Kingdom may expand.

Craig Christina

We have recently witnessed a major vote by Congress to enact health care legislation guaranteeing that every American will be covered by health insurance.  Regardless of how you  feel about insuring all Americans or having to pay for abortions, the financial impact will hit our children. 

        As I was bringing my kids home from church Sunday, I told them about the health care bill and the fact that our government was expanding entitlements to the tune of about a trillion dollars (and some estimate two and a half trillion dollars).  I told them that they would be the ones paying the bill for the benefits that my generation is enjoying today.  In other words, I explained that our government continues to spend more money than they receive.  As of March 22, 2010, our national debt is a whopping $12.676 trillion dollars and climbing by about $4 billion every single day.  We have become a debtor nation to other countries like China who keep loaning us money.  One day, they’ll stop loaning us the money and want to be paid back.  That will probably be about the time my grade school kids have children of their own.  Their taxes will be sky high just to pay the interest on the debt—not to mention paying back any of the principal.

     You probably are not surprised that my children were furious.  “How can they do that?” they chorused.  “Why doesn’t someone stop them?”

     The truth is out-of-control spending by Congress reflects a much larger problem our nation faces.  We like to live on credit.  Why does the average U.S. household have over $16,000 of credit card debt?  Many families are living beyond their annual income.  We like instant gratification.  Even the health care package is designed to give us the benefits first and the higher taxes later—some taxes won’t go into effect until Obama leaves office even if he serves a second term.  That’s the new American way of life.  Buy now, drown in debt later.

     Unfortunately, this fiscal fiasco reflects a broader spiritual truth: most Americans are living on spiritual credit.  We want to enjoy the benefits and pleasures of the world now and worry about the consequences later.  We want to enjoy the gift of life today without giving much thought to the Creator of our lives.  When you ask someone about the Lord, they often have the attitude, “you have your path to God, and I have mine.”  Or “don’t try to force your religious views on me.”  Or “I’m fine the way I am; I’m a good person, and God will let me into heaven some day.”  Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

     Each day is a gift from God; another opportunity to turn away from our sin and selfishness and ask Jesus to forgive our sin and take control of our lives.  For “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  If someone offered us the opportunity to pay-off all our credit cards, loans, and mortgages, we would be fools not to accept it gladly and thankfully.  Jesus offers to pay-off our sin debt simply by turning away from our sinfulness and trusting in Him as Lord.  Yet, there is a limit to God’s patience.  For those who never yield their lives to Jesus, they will spend eternity separated from God and paying for their sins.

     One day, our nation will be forced to do something about our debt.  The “buy now, pay later” lifestyle will come to a screeching halt.  If we lack the discipline and common sense to reconcile the national checkbook soon, our children and grandchildren will be the ones left holding the bill.  The U.S. government can continue to dole out billions to the banks, mortgage companies, auto makers, and the uninsured.  But make no mistake, our children are the ones who will actually bail us out.  After all, every credit line has a limit.

Tracy Christina

The godly characteristic that we are focusing on for the rest of this month is boldness.  Boldness is the “confidence that what I have to say or do is true and right and just in the sight of God.”  We see this made evident in the lives of may biblical characters from Moses to Gideon to David to Paul.  Boldness to proclaim the message of God’s love and forgiveness to a dying world.

Acts 4:29 says, “And now, Lord, observe their threats and grant to Your bond servants [full freedom] to declare Your message fearlessly.”  This prayer  is the prayer of my heart and hopefully yours as well.  Fear is what holds us back from sharing God’s love with others.  Fear of rejection and failure leads us to be spiritually defeated.  So this month of January let us pray this prayer that our Lord will make His available servants fearless in proclaiming His message of love and forgiveness.

As we are praying for our Haitian brothers and sisters and even our own member let us pray that those who are believers will have boldness to share that Jesus loves the Haitian people and that His presence is with them even in this tragedy.  Let us pray for their grief and horrific experiences.  Let us pray that they will be strengthened emotionally as well as physically with all the calamity that they have seen, heard, smelled, and felt.  May this lead to an open door to share God’s love with those who are willing to hear.

Tracy Christina

Ephesians 3:20-21: ²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

This past weekend 12 women from our church went to a Deeper Still conference in Oklahoma City featuring Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore.  This was an emotional and powerful weekend.  My favorite speaker was Priscilla who shared these verses with us. 

Our God is able NOW to enter into our situation and to work on our behalf, but do we believe it?  In our lives sometimes we get so burdened with circumstances that we forget the promise that Paul shares with us.  But the promise is not simple that now He is able, it goes beyond that.  It says that he will do immeasurable more than we can imagine.  That means that God goes beyond our deepest understanding and even better than  He goes beyond, beyond our deepest thoughts, dreams, and imaginings. 

How does He do this?  He does this with the power that is at work in us.  The word power comes from the greek word dynamus which is where we get our word dynomite.  But God just doesn’t give us power from the well of his power because He is Power.  This power is found in the Holy Spirit which is in us and is at work in our lives.  If we will only yeild to His power at work in our lives then we will experience the surprises that He desires to lavish on us.  We must take His word and marry it to our faith so that we can learn to rest in His power.

Tracy Christina

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)

(5) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  (6)and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  (7)and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.   (8)For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and  unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtue is “the moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiate from my life as I obey God’s word.”  Impurity is the quality that is opposite of virtue.  The Bible tells us that we must make every effort to add the list presented here to our lives and to our faith.  If we do not then the result is an ineffective and unproductive life in Christ.  Christ desires us to have a productive and effective life with abundant living. So what then do we need to have to accomplish the goal of virtue in our lives?  The first thing that we need is an understanding of goodness.  Goodness is the understanding of wanting the best for others.  Goodness would help us then get to the understanding of knowledge.  Knowledge is the understanding of the love of God and who God is in each of our lives.  Once we understand who God is then we can begin to work on our self-control.  We need to work on controlling the fleshy nature in our lives so that we can live in the spirit to be truly spiritual not just in words but in our actions.  From the idea of self-control we move to adding perseverance which is endurance.  The idea here is of getting ready to run a long marathon not a short sprint.  Once we have perseverance in our lives that will lead to godliness.  We will be walking in the spirit and understanding of God as we endure the ups and downs of living to develop a godly perspective that shows to all those around us.  As godliness develops it will naturally lead us to kindness to others.  This affection will develop within each of us an agape love that puts others before ourselves and is always looking out for the other person.  These qualities lead us to a fulfilled life of abundant, productive, and effective living for the Lord.

Craig Christina

 This Saturday marks the annual festival of Halloween.  Boys and girls all across our land will wear costumes, visit neighbors, and shout the enigmatic words, “trick or treat.”  Most children don’t really know what those words mean.  All they know is that on this night speaking those magic words will usually yield free candy for all.

     In my day, we sometimes received homemade goodies like popcorn balls or caramel apples.  But one year, the rumors spread about the crazy lady who “tainted” her apples with rat poison.  From then on, the only acceptable treat was individually wrapped candy.  Gee, I wonder who started that rumor?  Could it be…Nestle???   Whichever candy maker spread the story, life changed and candy sales soared.  I’m sure the opportunistic VP of sales had job security for life. 

     This Saturday night, 4-7 p.m., the people of Shiloh Terrace will shower candy and fun on a whole host of people from our community.  We’re not celebrating Halloween.  But like the candy makers, we’re going to take advantage of the opportunity by telling the people about the biggest treat in the universe.  Jesus Christ gave His life for us.  He was punished in our place for our sin.  Satan thought he had tricked Jesus by putting Him to death.  Instead, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and defeated death, once for all, by rising from the grave the third day.

     Saturday night, we’re going to gather the 1,000+ people from the community and tell them about this treat, this gift, this blessing of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.  The devil probably thinks he has won by having the holiday of Halloween.  He’ll be tricked once again as hundreds of people consider giving their lives to Jesus as Lord.  I’m still looking forward to the candy (I mean, my kids are).  But the greatest treat will be telling people about Jesus. 

Tracy Christina

 Sincerity is the next godly characteristic that we need to develop in our lives.  Sincerity is defined as “eagerness to do what is right with transparent motives.”  I Peter 1:22 states,”Since by your obedience to the Truth through the [Holy] Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethern, [see that you] love one another fervently from a pure heart.”   The first concept here follows our last quality.  Obedience to the Truth which is given to us by the Holy Spirit does purify our hearts which in turn helps us to love one another sincerely.

Sincerity in affection is a pure way of loving others.  Love that is pure of heart and not contaminated with self absorbed motives.  This form of love takes the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer to accomplish.  The challenge is praying that the Holy Spirit will enable us to love others with an eagerness and transparent motives.  Showing others that we truly love them sincerely.  Loving others is a command given by our Lord and when we learn to love then we learn to be obedient.

Tracy Christina

Obedience is a trait that we all must master in order to live a godly life.  Obedience has been defined as the “freedom to be creative under the protection of divinely appointed authority.”  Have we ever thought of obedience that way?  I have never thought about the freedom to be creative yet being protected.  What a wonderful thought that God desires us to use our creativity.  If we are obedient to what He desires in our lives and our homes then we too can use our creativity to better serve Him. 

II Corinthians 10:5 says, “[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God;; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” (Amplified version)  We must take captive every thought and purpose out of obedience to Christ.  There are so many theories and arguments, concepts and principles running around in our depraved world that we must learn to filter what we hear, read, and see through the eyes of Christ.  Taking captive means to hold something prisoner, to not let it run free.  That is what we are to do with our thought life and our own reasonings.  What do you spend time thinking about?  Take today to be aware of your thoughts.  Are they good wholesome thoughts or are your thoughts running wild without any supervision.  Take captive EVERY thought and walk in obedience today.