Busy Bodies

We all lead busy lives with our jobs, children and all of the "stuff" that we do everyday. It's easy to ignore the most important things in our lives. Christi Andres sent me this article about emotional adultery and the pitfalls that come along with it. This stuff doesn't happen over night. It takes time to progress and we should all be aware and have our guards up. The article reminds me of the song "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns. I just thought I would share this with you all. Have a good day!

Avoiding Emotional Adultery
Jude 24 "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy."

It is far easier to commit emotional adultery than you may realize. You may be converging on a chemical reaction with another person when:
You've got a need you feel your mate isn't meeting-a need for attention, approval or affection, for example.
You find it easier to unwind with someone other than your spouse by dissecting the day's difficulties over lunch, coffee or a ride home.
You begin to talk about problems you are having with your spouse.
You rationalize the propriety of this relationship with the opposite sex by saying that surely it must be God's will to talk so openly and honestly with a fellow Christian.
You look forward to being with this person more than with your own mate.
You hide the relationship from your mate.
When you find yourself connecting with another person as a substitute, you've started traveling a road that ends too often in adultery and divorce. But how do you protect yourself to keep this from occurring?
Know your boundaries. You should put fences around your heart that protect sacred ground, reserved only for your spouse. Barbara and I are careful to share our deepest feelings, needs and difficulties with each other, and not with friends of the opposite sex.
Realize the power of your eyes. As has been said, your eyes are the windows to your heart. Pull the shades down if you sense someone is pausing a little too long in front of your windows.
Beware of isolation and concealment. One strategy of the enemy is to isolate you from your spouse, especially by inducing you to keep secrets from your mate.
Extinguish chemical reactions that have already begun. A friendship with the opposite sex that meets the needs your mate should be meeting must be ended quickly. It may be a painful loss at first, but it isn't as painful as dealing with the wreckage caused by a sinful relationship.

Prayer: Daily that God would "keep you from stumbling."

Discuss: What barriers can you observe to avoid dangerous chemical reactions?

Slow Fade - Casting Crowns

Mark Hall on Psalm 1

Fabulous February....Were You Affected?

WOW - Fabulous February was wonderful wasn't it? I know my family was touched by God on all four Sundays. I enjoyed the simplicity of Brother Phil Waldrep’s message. God moved on the body of our church that morning. The evening with Brother Phil was great also. He used Paul’s letter writing skills and the fact that Paul took the time to recognize folks that “couldn’t really do anything for him” to hammer home his points about loving people. Dr. Hal and his wife DeeDee offered some refreshing insights into healthy marriages. I was actually surprised about the fact that they didn’t really say anything all too surprising; the point was and still is that when I actually commit to doing those things that God will work in my marriage and I will see the fruits of the priorities that I have set. February 15th brought Randy Mann to the pulpit of Eastaboga. Brother Randy came to talk with us about Sunday school…..well, to be politically correct (as if you are really concerned) SMALL GROUPS. I really enjoyed the eloquence with the way Brother Randy communicated both the morning message as well as the one given that evening. I already talked with a few of you about how both of Randy’s messages made me reconsider how I view “church”. Most of us have agreed that we would have liked to have seen Sunday night on Sunday morning. Either way I walked away a richer man after listening to some of Randy Mann’s insight on things that we can do to grow as a church. Yesterday Chris Swan brought his hoe and rake and talked with us about cultivating the lives of our children and how it is our responsibility as parents to love our children enough to guide them into living Godly lives.

Now comes the part where we, as a church body, actually digest the food that we’ve been given. How do we respond to this? Almost every night this month my wife and I have discussed at least part of what has been talked about from the pulpit trying to take it all in and practically apply it to how we raise our children, the way we conduct ourselves at work, how we interact with each other and just what our role is here at Eastaboga.
I don’t know what you took home from Fabulous February but I am going to take a shot at explaining what I received from it. Before I get to that I want to say that I think we have come full circle. I find it ironic that just before Fab Feb started Brother Rodney gave his “annual sermon on money”. I find it ironic because to me all four pastors came to Eastaboga this month to speak about investing and how well we’re doing it. Think about it…….Phil Waldrep discussed how Paul invested in the people of the early church, Hal Warren’s message on being a better husband???? Invest yourself in your wife. Ask Randy Mann what one of the main reasons that Sunday School is vital in our church today and I am sure he’ll tell you that it’s because we can actually invest in each other in a small group, something that gets increasingly more difficult the larger the group gets. And lastly one of the two keys that Chris Swan drove home yesterday was to BE a part of your child’s life……in other words genuinely invest in the life of your child.
As I consider this I also have to consider how hard these things are for me to do………consistently. My conclusion is that I simply CANNOT. All of this hinges on how Jesus answered the question found in Matthew 22:36, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Brother Randy Mann mentioned this on Sunday night. What was Jesus’ answer? Love God and Love People (my paraphrase). Think about that. Jesus says that to Love God with all that we have IS the greatest commandment and to love other people just as we love ourselves is second. How can I love you like I love me? I’ll ask you again because I simply cannot get my mind around this……How can I love you just as I love me? I CAN’T……..on my own. I need God to love you through me. Therefore I HAVE to get the first commandment right in order to even think about moving on to the second. I think that possibly the second commandment might be a practical and “seen” application of the first commandment carried out in our lives.

HERE is a link to a good article on this subject. Take your time reading this one. It’s a lot to digest at once.

Fabulous February was wonderful for me and my family. It was a cool drink of water on a hot day for us, very refreshing and now we are ready to go do more LIFE together.

What did you receive from Fabulous February? How did it affect your family? Did it change your prospective on ANYTHING? What are you doing differently now?

Romans Road

I was asked a very important question today. Here is a refresher course on the answer....memorize it. It is the power of the gospel of the Cross (see 1 Cortinthians 1:18).





Question: Why would I want to know Christ and how can I do it?





Answer: What is The Romans Road to Salvation Alex....?





The Romans Road to salvation is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans. It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining why we need salvation, how God provided salvation, how we can receive salvation, and what are the results of salvation.The first verse on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:8 declares, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."Would you like to follow the Romans Road to salvation? If so, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! "God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!"Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have learned through the Romans Road to salvation? If so, please click HERE to contact us and share the good news. We would love to have you as a part of our family here at Eastaboga Baptist.

Darwin's Birthday Poll: Fewer Than 4 in 10 Believe in Evolution

Here is a recent article that I found on the internet that I found interesting. WOULD anyone like to comment on this one?.....

Here's the article (I cited it below by the way):

A new poll released just in time for Charles Darwin's 200th birthday found that only 39 percent of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," and just 24 percent of those who attend church weekly believe in that explanation for the development of life on Earth.
The Gallup Survey, released Wednesday, found a quarter of those polled do not believe in evolution, and 36 percent said they don't have an opinion either way.
Another survey by the Pew Research Center got similar results.
The Gallup poll of 1,018 American adults found strong ties between education level and belief in the theory of evolution.
"Among those with high-school educations or less who have an opinion on Darwin's theory, more say they do not believe in evolution than say they believe in it," Gallup found. "For all other groups, and in particular those who have at least a college degree, belief is significantly higher than nonbelief."
Just 21 percent of respondents who had up to a high school level of education believe in evolution, compared with 74 percent of those with postgraduate degrees.
Frank Newport, Gallup's editor-in-chief, wrote that attitudes were shaped to an even greater degree by religion.
"Previous Gallup research shows that the rate of church attendance is fairly constant across educational groups, suggesting that this relationship is not owing to an underlying educational difference but instead reflects a direct influence of religious beliefs on belief in evolution," he said.
Among weekly churchgoers, only 24 percent said they believe in evolution, while 41 percent do not and 35 percent have no opinion.
Inversely, 55 percent of those who seldom or never attend church expressed belief in evolution, while 11 percent do not, and 34 percent have no opinion.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,491345,00.html


WHAT DO YOU THINK AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT WAY?

LINK - Another article about this....

An Encouraging Word

Several folks that I come in contact with on a daily basis have been asking questions about My God, church, salvation and everything in between. I have invited them to visit with us at Eastaboga and I have invited them to get involved on this blog.
Paul told us that when we speak we are to talk about "what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." I am going to ask that some of you as you feel led to post the story of how you came to know Jesus, how God has been moving in your life lately or just an encouraging word for those that might stumble across our humble little corner of the world wide web.
God truly is at work at Eastaboga Baptist Church. I am encouraged every time I see and talk with each one of you whether it be at church or somewhere else. Please share some of that encouragement with us. If you get time in the next few days share what God has done and continues to do in your life. This is an exciting topic and I am excited about hearing some of your stories.

Tax Time?

SHORT POST - BIG TOPIC

The other day I found myself in a conversation with my boss about tithing, or not....

I made the comment that we (my wife and I) do not turn in our tithes with our taxes. I base this on the fact that 1 God is not a "Charitable Organization" - it's His money anyway, 2 if I get a tax break (return) on what I gave then God did not actually get from us the amount that we intended to give and 3 Churches don't pay tax. I am taxed and I tithe based on what I make per year (Gross Income). If I get a tax cut on what I give then I didn't actually give based on what I make. This is just how I feel about this situation.

After about 3 minutes of conversation our whole office had chimed in with their opinion on how I am either right or how I am wrong to think this way. Either way people seem to be drawn to this topic. I can't imagine why??? MONEY???

Any Biblical precedent that anyone can offer as to why I am or am not right on this situation would be appreciated greatly.

I will update this post on the front page with all of your answers. THANKS!

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benjaminh said...
Wow Matt....I've never thought of it that way. How about this....If you did claim your tithes on your taxes and gave back (to God) any "tax break/return" that you may have received for claiming that then effectively God would receive all your tithe plus some of the governments money (because they would have kept it anyway). I think that is awesome....there are some Christian hating liberals out there would definitely not like that.

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Jeff Daniel said...
Whoa, I'm in the same boat as Ben...I've never given any thought to am I wrong to use tithes as a write off either. My first thought is that I've never had any conviction about turning it in (but thanks to you I might now!!!!!!!!) I'm not sure it could be defended biblically in favor of or against, at least not directly. The most direct instruction is to "give from the firstfruits" (which I translate to "gross income") I would say that any reason given as justification to use tithes as a write-off would be born from disobedience from a person who probably doesn't tithe to begin with. It's a spiritual/obedience issue, not a practical financial question. I put it in the category of personal conviction?...someone might be completely obedient to God by giving a strict 10%, while another feels led to give more. So forfeiting the increased gain in tax return could be justified as obedience to your conviction from God. Good topic!

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A Good Sport?.....

The coach of a Texas high school basketball team that beat another team 100-0 was fired Sunday, the same day he sent an e-mail to a newspaper saying he will not apologize "for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."
Kyle Queal, the headmaster for Covenant School, said in The Dallas Morning News online edition that he could not answer if the firing was a direct result of coach Micah Grimes' e-mail disagreeing with administrators who called the blowout "shameful."
Queal did not immediately answer phone messages or e-mail from The Associated Press.
On its Web site last week, Covenant, a private Christian school, posted a statement regretting the outcome of its Jan. 13 shutout win over Dallas Academy. "It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened. This clearly does not reflect a Christlike and honorable approach to competition," said the statement, signed by Queal and board chair Todd Doshier.
Grimes, who has been criticized for letting the game get so far out of hand, made it clear in the e-mail Sunday to the newspaper that he does not agree with his school's assessment.
"In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed," Grimes wrote in the e-mail, according to the newspaper. "We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."

A phone number for Grimes could not be located by The Associated Press. The Dallas Morning News said Grimes did not respond to their repeated e-mail requests for a telephone interview.
There was no answer at a number listed for Doshier.

A parent who attended the game said Covenant continued to make 3-pointers — even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime. Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and about 20 girls in its high school. It is winless over the last four seasons. The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with "learning differences," such as short attention spans or dyslexia. There is no mercy rule in girls basketball that shortens the game or permits the clock to continue running when scores become one-sided. There is, however, "a golden rule" that should have applied in this contest, Edd Burleson, the director of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, said last week. Both schools are members of this association, which oversees private school athletics in Texas. The story has received national attention, and the Dallas Academy team has been recognized for refusing to give up during the lopsided contest.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,482825,00.html

Everything that we do has an effect on someone else. What do you think about this? Any lessons to be learned? I'm interested about how this story stirred your soul or if it didn't at all.