Join us November 20, Sunday morning at 10:00 for BLAINE BOWMAN AND HIS GOODTIME BAND.

If you’re a little bit Country, Blues, Western Swing, Rock, Bluegrass, or Jazz, then this concert is perfect for you!

MUSIC, COMEDY, & THE WORD

CD’s and DVD’s available at concert and online.

Check out their website here to meet the crew and here some of their music.  http://www.blainebowman.com/fr_home.cfm

To reserve your seat, you may send us an email through our Contact Page or call the office at 479-273-3460.

6:00 – 8:00pm

Popcorn, cotton candy, an inflatable, games, prizes, candy, music and a positive message.

In both camps there are nice people and there are nasties. There are those who are naturally humble and others who are prideful. Some people are givers and some are takers. You will find good marriages and absolute train wrecks – in both groups. You will find the self controlled and the impulsive, compulsive, obsessive, obsessive compulsive, narcissistic, me-monsters, the smart, the ignorant, the beautiful, the – you might try more rouge. And the list goes on……and on….

The thing is is that we are all just people, some of us are truly pursuing Christ and others are pretending to pursue Him or throwing Him a half-hearted nod now and then, some believe He exists but refuse to live for Him. Some don’t think about Him and some don’t believe He even exists. Still some are even hostile towards Him. Any way you slice it there are only two kinds of people in this world- those who know Him and those who don’t. We are all one race with different ethnicity’s and personalities.

So where am I going with this? I wanted to build a base that would show we are all alike yet distinct.

When a person changes from one camp to the other (everyone starts in the losers bracket) one thing changes instantly (justification- you are eternally secured in Christ and guaranteed eternal life) and everything else immediately starts changing (sanctification- you gradually grow in the perfecting pleasure of knowing Him). So lets say you know someone who claims to be a Christian and they are a bit of a stinker (we all know someone like this- if not, go look in the mirror). We must look at this person (and each other) in the light of the forgiveness we have received for ourselves. When dealing with a difficult brother or sister in the Faith we must think of this one thing- Christ suffered tremendously for this person. He lived a perfect life, died a horrific, painful death, and gloriously rose again- for this jack leg! Lord help me love people like you love them (although this is an impossible request to perfectly love like Him while I am still present in this imperfect body, I yearn to walk as He did). It helps when I look at my own walk and see the areas God has grown me in. I think “This fellow might be surly but maybe they were super surly before they were justified”.

You may be thinking “I know “Churchfolk” who were “justified” a looooooong time ago…………..still nasty. Well maybe they aren’t justified, or perhaps you might be the one God uses to help them grow up. How do you know the difference? The Bible says we will know them by their fruits. A true believer will bear SOME kind of fruit (even if its just a dried up raisin). Deep in their hearts they will want to pursue Christ and not their own desires. Even when we are unsure if the person is truly justified we still are dealing with a human being whom He created and we still must try and help and love the confused, the weak and those who are seeking. This same God given, Holy Spirit driven compassion and love that we must be walking in for each other is the same compassion and love that drives away wolves (false teachers, pretenders) who would try to enter in and deceive God’s people, it’s the same compassion and love that wars against the strategies of the enemy as he roams around seeking whom he may destroy.

JOHN 13:34-35      ”A new commandment I give to you,that you love one another: JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”

Did you see that? Apparently if we don’t have love (His kind of self sacrificing love) for each other then we are not disciples. This love for each other doesn’t originate from our own self will or even making ourselves love each other, it only comes from the Holy Spirit that dwells inside each and every believer. That is what links all us “Churchfolk” together. He abides in us- perfect love in an imperfect individual…..isn’t He amazing?

I think about standing before Him. He is looking at me. What have I done with the breath he gave me? I can’t stop thinking about all the wickedness I have revelled in. I remember every foul thing I ever did. Everything from lying to my mother and father as a child to the unspeakable acts and thoughts I wholeheartedly engaged in. I tell myself I didn’t fight the temptations enough! In fact I ran to them, I swam in them. He is still looking at me. I know He knows.

I think, if He says “guilty” what will be my response? He is Elohim, the Highest, Most Righteous Judge. There is no one to appeal too. Nothing I could ever say would change His mind now. And trying to explain would probably just make it worse. Maybe I should just scream out ”guilty” or “have mercy”. Anything to break the silence. If He judges me damned I will have no other outlet but to agree. I know what I have done.

I think about when my heart was convicted at a Bluegrass Gospel Festival at a church in Lebanon, Ohio in 1995 (I am not a redneck- OK, maybe just a little). I start thinking about a preacher I didn’t even know at the time coming to me and saying “God is about done wrestling with you”. I remember running to the alter and falling on my face and bawling for what seemed an hour. I remember getting up and feeling about 300 lbs. lighter. I wonder if that really had anything to do with what was about to happen. Would that have any bearing on what He would say.

I know something happened that night. Something inside had died and there was a newness there now. He is still just looking at me- reading my every thought (maybe I should just be thinking Bible verses or something). I think about all the sins I had committed since that day, to numerous to count. Would they now come back to haunt me? Had I sinned too much? Had I like Cain brought offerings of works and not obedience? And if of obedience was I obeying to show Him I loved Him or was I loving Him and producing obedience. A product of works or of grace?

I played church alot- too much. I had a hat for when I was at work and one for when I was at His house. I didn’t tell everybody I knew about Him. He even gave me opportunities and I missed them. I didn’t always respect my authority He placed over me. I didn’t love my wife as much as I knew too, I wasn’t a good enough example for my kids, I didn’t obey Him immediately when He showed me my sin.

These are a few of the things I think about.

I am staking all my hope in what the Bible says so clearly, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” Jhn 3:16. That’s all I have got. I am all in. According to God’s Word there is no hope outside of Jesus. It’s not Jesus plus anything. It’s just Jesus.

He is still looking at me. Someone I recognize on His right hand gives Him a seal. It says “PAID”.

Thanks mom for always nurturing my physical growth and more importantly pointing me towards the light.

This phrase has challenged, stretched, and troubled me for the last several weeks as I look at how involved I’ve become in just “keeping the aquarium”.  Aquarium maintenance is important, right?  I mean, if you don’t have an aquarium, you can’t have fish.  The short answer is, yes and no.  It becomes a matter of importance and priority.

Last summer we were at Roaring River State Park in Missouri.  Roaring River is a big park with a campground, swimming pool, trout fishing, and a fish hatchery.  While we were there they were doing some work on the fish hatchery.  They were essentially keeping the aquarium.  The thing is the aquarium has a specific purpose, and it isn’t to keep the fish happy.  It’s purpose isn’t to look pretty.  It is to bring the fish in, grow them up and send them out.  The whole purpose of that aquarium really is to be able to put as many new fish into it as possible!

What if we made our church so that we could reach as many people as we could?  If our whole focus was like that aquarium, to put as many new fish into it as we could.  What would we have to change?  What would we have to do differently?  Our style?  Our decor?  Our preferences?  What we call things?  How we address things?  It would require us putting our personal preferences aside.  It would require sacrifice, selflessness, and love.  It would require that we change how-or why-we keep the aquarium.

Peter encountered a very similar situation in Acts 10.  He was asked by God to hang out with Cornelius’ family and share the Gospel with them.  The problem was they weren’t Jews!  Peter had to put aside his personal preferences, his culture and his traditions to see God’s kingdom expanded (thank God Peter was obedient), but it caused some initial concerns in the church.  Peter had to go to Jerusalem because he was being criticized for being “seeker sensitive”, and he had to explain what the Holy Spirit had done.

The church then made a very significant decision that we need to make today.  They decided that they weren’t going to object to what God was doing and that they were going to allow the aquarium to continue to be filled.  What an incredible decision for them to make.  Are we willing to make the same kind of decisions in order to fill the aquarium?

Amanda will not drink regular coffee, or eat hot dogs, drink soda, eat to much fish, no raw meat and not even if it’s a little tiny bit pink!  It’s not because she doesn’t like any of those things, in fact she loves them, with the exception of hot dogs, I on the other hand could eat them every night for dinner.  But since she’s pregnant she abides by the all the rules of what they suggest you should and should not do.  Oh yeah, and no lunch meat.

Other friends and family who have also had children think it’s a little overboard because they ate that or drank this and it didn’t hurt their child and I normally tend to agree with them.  But because there is a possibility that it could hurt the baby she’s not taking the chance.

It got me to thinking that one would look at this in the church as legalism and I totally agree that it’s not about religion and that it’s about relationship.  Although, I am a little tired of hearing it because that card wouldn’t fly in my marriage.  If I walked in after being on a 3 day hiatus and never gave my wife an explanation except that it wasn’t about rules, but relationship, I probably wouldn’t have a relationship for much longer.

So I get it, relationship and not religion.  But if you’re only trying to protect the gift God has given you and you don’t want anything from the outside altering what’s on the inside then I wouldn’t call it legalism, I would call it being a good steward. It becomes legalistic as soon as you try to impose it on others by saying the way you do it makes it right for everyone.  It would be wrong for her to have an attitude of pride because she kept a few of the suggested rules of pregnancy.  By the way, she hasn’t kept every single one out there, maybe just the bigger ones.

Our lifestyle might not be outright ungodly, but maybe it’s not being a good steward of what God has given you, like your time, money, gifts, and talents, which are all gifts from Him.

2 Timothy 2:21 says, Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

I want to be USEFUL and READY for everything God has prepared!

My children mean so much to me. I love them. I want them to grow and make good choices. The thing is I can see that one of the biggest impacts I can have on them is how they see me treat momma (and how momma treats me). Whatever they see us do shapes how they view the way it is supposed to be.
I know I want my sons to marry women who respect them and my daughters to marry men who are gentle with them. I want my sons to be gentle with their wives and my daughters to respect their husbands.

That is a pretty picture but how do I do that? How do I prepare my children? As usual, I will turn to God’s Word to get some answers.

Did you know the Bible always addresses the woman first when it speaks of marriage? I heard a minister say the reason for this is that no man can lead a woman who will not follow him. Ephesians 6:22 tells wives to submit to their own husbands…as to the Lord. For women who profess to be Christians these are eye popping Words. He is telling wives to submit to their husbands the way they submit to Christ. If you ever see a woman belittling her husband you can get a good sense of how she feels about Jesus.
In verse 33 He instructs the wife to respect her husband. I cannot tell you how much it means to a man to know that his wife respects him (believers and non-believers alike). Ladies, even if your husband doesn’t deserve respect you can win him to Christ without a word by following this principle (see 1 Cor. 7).
Don’t rebuke him publicly (that includes in front of the kids), don’t flirt with other men, don’t nag at him.
Honor, submit, and respect him. It is a picture to those around you of how you honor, submit and respect your Savior.

As a husband the only person I can work on is me. I want my wife to feel special 365 days a year. Dude, that takes some kind of work. I cannot do that on my own. The Bible calls her a “weaker vessel”. It doesnt mean she is some old clay pot that is brittle, it means she is like fine china. I am like a cast iron skillet and she gets to be a priceless heirloom. Thats nice. In Eph. 5:25 we are instructed to love our wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. Those are extremely strong orders. We are to love and serve our wives as Christ loves and serves His body. And then the wife submits to our SERVICE. If you are barking orders, domineering, angry, abusive, non engaging, never help around the house, you are giving a good idea to those around you how you view God. When you are loving and gentle you give a picture to all those around you about how Christ loves His body. She is your body.

I know there are extreme cases. I am not trying to say this is in any way an exhaustive study on marriage.
I am saying to husbands and wives, how we treat one another is in full view of our children. If you want your children in happy marriages start practicing in your own. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, guide you, change you. Let me say here, what the children get out of it is only a by-product. What you will get is to be a picture of how Christ and His body function. You say, “well, I try and do this and then she wants to do that, and she wont listen to me”, He says, “Yeah, sounds like some of my relationships”. I want my wifes eyes to light up when she sees me. I want to look forward to seeing her every day.

You only have a certain number of heartbeats left. Too few to waste on prideful things. Humble yourself and obey the Word of the Lord. And tonight go and listen to the heartbeats in your home.

I can not say or do anything to ADD to His Glory. Nor could I say or do anything to TAKE from His Glory. He is God Almighty and is far above reproach. To add to Him would say He was missing something, to take would say He is fallible.

Yet I love Him so much. How can I show Him what He means to me?
I can make much of Him.
When things are good- make much of Him.
When things are bad- make much of Him.
When you eat dinner with your family tonight- make much of Him.
When you have an opportunity to love your neighbor- make much of Him.
When a brother or sister slanders you- make much of Him.
If the the world hates you- make much of Him.
When you are afraid- make much of Him.
When your heart is broken- make much of Him.
When your sorrow is never ending- make much of Him.
When you read His Word- make much of Him.
When you pray- make much of Him.
When choosing what to watch tonight- make much of Him.
When your wife starts down that road- make much of Him.
When your husband is doing (or not doing) that thing again- make much of Him.
In everything- make much of Him!

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
Revelation 3:20-21

Did you hear that? He dines with us, we get to sit with Him on His throne. Serving God does not guarantee a smooth life. It ended very badly for most of the Old Testament prophets, all of the apostles, and a good portion of the early christians. It is in the rough times that making much of Him shines all the brighter.
Serving God does however guarantee a seat with Him, if that means ANYTHING to you- Make much of Him.