"No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." 2 Timothy 2:4-6 I've caught a glimpse of him a few times now on my way to church. Early in the morning. Full gear. Wide open. Strange though, there was no fire. There was no alarm. There was no one in danger. The station was calm and the fire trucks were in the bay. What was this guy doing? He was acting in a way that was consistent with his belief. That's what he was doing. What did he believe? He believed that one day someones life would be on the line and he would have to be ready to act. He couldn't be weak. He couldn't afford to put it off another day. It wasn't if there was going to be a fire, but when. He truly believed in fire. He truly believed fire kills. He truly believed life was precious. He truly believed that if he stayed behind in the station that those lives would perish. More than all of those he believed that the mandate of the fire station and its captain was to be honored, because those mandates were and always will be good. He had a sincere devotion to the captain and his mandate. Therefore he moved. I would like to share with you a fictitious story to illustrate a point. An experienced firefighter was recently charged with grave neglect of duty. Prosecutors maintained that he had abandoned his responsibility when he failed to release rescue equipment. This resulted in the needless and tragic deaths of a family of five. Eyewitnesses were sickened when they discovered that the reason the firefighter remained locked in the emergency vehicle was simply because he was testing a new, hi-tech, CD player which, he maintained, he had bought as a gift...

Have you ever been in a room with a friend and forgot to pay attention to her? You are aware she is talking, but you are not listening. Perhaps you are staring over her shoulder out the window and pondering the contents of the package that was just delivered to your neighbor across the street. At some point or another, we have all been guilty of this kind of behavior. Perhaps more often than we even realize. In fact, it is a daily struggle for me. It is a struggle not to look over the tiny heads within my home and out into the world. I tend to think of sharing the gospel as something that is to be done "out in the world". When I think of evangelism I think of street evangelism. I am guilty of forgetting my responsibility to the little blessings God has given me. Going out and sharing the gospel is vital and mandatory in the life of every believer, but don't forget to share it within your home as well! My two little boys' souls are just as depraved and desperate for the gospel as anyone else with whom I could share. There will be seasons in your life, especially if you have young children, in which most of your days are spent at home. You do the laundry, cook, clean, and make sure everyone has their nap. Do not let yourself believe that those things are worthless. As wives and mothers, we have been called to manage our homes. As a stay-at-home mom I do not have as many opportunites to share the gospel with strangers as many do. And on days when I do venture out, it can be quite a challenge to have a meaningful conversation with two little boys in tow. At times I have found this discouraging and felt that I am being disobedient by not meeting some imaginary gospel-sharing quota that I had set for myself. But I have found much freedom in realizing that my foremost priority is to be sharing the gospel within my home. That is...

If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the LORD. Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed. -Jeremiah 3:1-3 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. -Jeremiah 6:15 Friday, November 17th, 2011 marks one of those very rare times in my life. It was one of those times when proclaiming Christ a particular event happened, and when it did, I knew it was going to stick with me like a traumatic event I just couldn't shake. You never forget the atmosphere. You never forget the place. You never forget your feelings. You never forget the faces. Never the faces. You know, I talk to a lot of people about Christ and I get a lot of different reactions. Everything on the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual scale you can think of I believe I've seen. Some are more frequent than others. Reactions of apathy, self-righteousness, plain 'ole unbelief, and anger are run of the mill in the south. But this one reaction Friday night was a rare one. I can only think of a handful of times this has happened and I bet out of a line of 500 people I could pick those same people out 10 years from now. Their faces are stuck in my brain. Those moments have been etched there and I've often asked God why. It was a normal Friday night outreach and the night began for me with refuting basically a whole church youth group and older woman from...

33 Minutes that will rock your world!! What changed their minds...in seconds? Invite your friends to watch 180 at http://www.livingwaters.com/180movie/sendtofriends.php...

I ran across a blog a few months back entitled How is an Andy Griffith Church going to reach a Lady Gaga World? and I've been trying to find the time to write a response. I feel like a response to this question is fitting for our heavily pragmatic church age. I think this question opens up the door to some very core issues dealing with the nature of man, the nature of God, and power of the gospel and the authority of scripture. What prompted a response from me was the fact of the pastors ending to the blog. He said he just didn't know the answer to this question. I was shocked; shocked mainly because this is a fundamental issue at the core of the gospel and this shepherd of souls doesn't know which way to turn. Well, I've found the time and I wanted to write a reply. The blog might go a bit long, but I think it will be worth sitting down and thinking through. You just can't expect to answer critical questions like this in a five minute snippet. I think if we take a little time to answer three basic questions we can have an answer for all ages, cultures and situations. Those three questions are: What is the nature of God? What is the nature of man? What is nature of scripture and the gospel? I believe that if we get answers to these three questions, the question posed by the blog mentioned above can be put to rest eternally because we will be giving a finite question an answer rooted in the eternal Word and that answer should never change. Here's the thing. Before we get started, if you aren't willing to research the scripture, pray over them and dig through this scripture by scripture then stop right here. Go no further. You aren't willing to seek truth. So close the browser page already. If, on the other hand, you are willing to dig, search, pray and learn then let's move forward with the Spirit of Christ and His Word as our guide. May He meet...

One day we will all die and stand in judgment before God. "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment," -Hebrews 9:27. On that day, what will you trust in? Christ or Works? Last night while out sharing the gospel, I was able to speak with two men...Juan and Luis. Shortly into our conversation, it was clear to me that Juan was professing his works to get him into heaven. He said "there are millions of things that you can do." This is frightening to me since he was not professing Jesus' work on the cross. We are only justified by the blood of Jesus: Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. -Romans 5:9. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. –Ephesians 2:8-9 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, -Titus 3:5 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. –Galatians 2:16 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, -2 timothy 1:9 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your...

Brethren, the whole ruin and current, and tenor and spirit of the gospel influences us to compassion. Ye are debtors, for what were ye if compassion had not come to your rescue? Divine compassion, all undeserved and free, has redeemed you from your vain conversation. Surely those who receive mercy should show mercy; those who owe all they have to the pity of God, should not be pitiless to their brethren. The Savior never for a moment tolerates the self-righteous isolation which would make you despise the prodigal, and cavil at his restoration, much less the Cainite spirit which cries, "Am I my brother's keeper?" No doctrine is rightly received by you if it freezes the genial current of your Christian compassion. You may know the truth of the doctrine, but you do not know the doctrine in truth if it makes you gaze on the wrath to come without emotions of pity for immortal souls. You shall find everywhere throughout the gospel that it rings of brotherly love, tender mercy, and weeping pity. If you have indeed received it in its power, the love of Christ will melt your spirit to compassion for those who are despising Christ, and sealing their own destruction. Let me beseech you to believe that it is needful as well as justifiable that you should feel compassion for the sons of men. You all desire to glorify Christ by becoming soul-winners—I hope you do—and be it remembered that, other things being equal, he is the fittest in God's hand to win souls who pities souls most. I believe he preaches best who loves best, and in the Sunday-school and in private life each soul-seeker shall have the blessing very much in proportion to his yearning for it. Paul becomes a savior of many because his heart's desire and prayer to God is that they may be saved. If you can live without souls being converted, you shall live without their being converted; but if your soul breaketh for the longing that it hath towards Christ's glory and the conversion of the ungodly, if like her...

Onward To The Resuce! James Smith, 1860 A house in the neighborhood was on fire, and the alarm soon spread. Life was in danger, and all felt concerned. Young and old, rich and poor, male and female, ran off in the direction of the burning house. Everyone was ready to lend a hand. All were alive, awake, and on the alert. The firemen were in their place, the engines were soon in full play, the inhabitants were all rescued, and some of the property was saved. Human nature had a fine opportunity of manifesting its sympathy, and display its benevolence. Everyone was talking of the fire, of the amount of property destroyed, of the danger in which the inhabitants were placed, and all seemed to rejoice in their safety. All this was as it should be. A few spent their time in speculating upon how the fire began, instead of helping to put it out; and some thought more of what might have been the consequences if there were no engines, or if there had not been plenty of water, or if the firemen had not been on the spot, or if the neighbors had not been willing to help; neither of these parties were of much use. But in general the motto was, "Onward to the rescue!" There was a cry heard, "A boat has tipped over, and a number of people are in the river!" Everyone that heard felt, and everyone that felt ran towards the river. Some labored at the boats to get them into the water, others manned them, and struck off toward that part of the river where the poor creatures were struggling for their lives. Some who could swim plunged into the water, and at the risk of their own lives, were determined to try and save others. All was excitement, until it was announced that all were saved. Soon it was discovered that one was missing; again all were on the alert, some dived to the bottom of the river, others got out the drags, others made all necessary preparations to restore suspended animation,...

Ezekiel 37:1-14 1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O...

Saturday May 7th we spent the day at Briscoe Park evangelizing during the Snellville Days festival. We had a booth there so we were able to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time. The 104.7 The Fish booth was two spots down from us. They were playing the radio over loud speakers and had a few tables with material setup and a few workers at the booth. I noticed, however, every kid that walked away from the booth with a swirly painting in their hand (dozens each hour doing this) never heard the gospel. I was standing at our booth handing out tracts and one of the workers walked by. I went to hand him a gospel tract and our conversation went like this: He said, "No thanks, I've already gotten one." I then asked him, "Are you guys sharing the gospel with those kids?" He replied with a long, slow, bewildered response, "Nooo." I then said, "Hmm. Don't you need to think about what you're doing?" He said again with that same tone, "Oooo.K." as if I were some crazy man. I then proceeded to say, "Those kids don't need paint they need the gospel!" He proceeded to walk away with no response and continued to share the gospel of amazing paint with each eager child. I was (and still am) pretty outraged. Why you ask? Well, in the words of a dear brother: THE HOUSE IS COMING DOWN. Those kids aren't at peace with God. They are little rebels with a whole seed-bed of sin germinating in their heart - growing each day until at once it is full bloom and apparent to everyone. In the words of a famous preacher, "Your child without evil. You without eyes, you mean!" Their house is on fire and 104.7 The Fish wants to give them a cute little painting to hang on their wall while they burn. This is treachery to the cause of Christ. Let's call it what it is and quit playing nice with things of eternal significance - especially the souls of men. So... Dear 104.7, it turns...

By Stephanie Autry Friday night (May 6th 2011) I went with my husband, Scott, and a few other brothers in Christ to share the gospel at a small local fair.  I was unnerved that evening because we were informed by someone in management that we could not take our backpack of tracts past the entrance gate because police suspected some type of gang related violence to take place. We had our newborn son with us. I don't think I have seen so many policemen collected at an event like this before.  So with that in mind, we agreed that God is control of everything and proceeded forth.  I was passing out tracts to different people with Scott when I spotted three young ladies talking. I was compelled to approach them because of one girl in particular was dressed quite provocative. I didn't plan on speaking to them, just to passing out a tract and keep moving to the next person.  This young girl, Alyssa, began crying after I gave her the tract. Concerned, I asked her if she was okay. She said she was upset because of the question that was on this tract I gave her, " How old will you be when you die?" I asked why that upset her because I had never had a response like that.  She said it made her think about death and that she didn't want to think about death. I told her it was a tract about Jesus Christ and then asked her, "Who is Jesus?"  She said it was complicated to explain to me who He is. I was taken back by her response because earlier two young men told me with all seriousness that they did not know who Jesus was. My heart sank to pit of my stomach. I knew I could not walk away without explaining to this girl who Christ is. During the conversation I tried to keep my composure. I tried not to cry with her. My heart was breaking from the things she shared. She admitted sinning and she admitted that she would not be pardoned but enter into...

We look out upon a pagan nation, or even at the lives of our unregenerate neighbors, and think of the impossibilities of the mission of the gospel, yet we sit at the dinner table and open His word to heartily take up the pursuit of grasping His holiness as if grasping the fullness of it were mere childs play. It is our lack of understanding of the latter, namely His holiness, that makes the former such an obstacle. Fuel for missions and the willingness to face the challenges they propose must come from an intimate, yet never encompassing, knowledge of His holiness first. Isaiah had a vision, then Isaiah had a commission! (Isaiah 6:1-8) It is this inexhaustible holiness that must be our source and strength. All other supplies of energy that we seek will fast fade into the night. Not even a fervent zeal and love for the souls of men can sustain us. It must be Him and Him alone. Press into Him. Press hard into Him and when you rise to face Satan and all his hellish crew, you will have the strength of Heaven itself pressing your forward. Holy Spirit give us this daily bread....

The Bible really is amazing, isn't it? Its harmony is flawless; its imagery is poetic; its account is accurate; its wisdom for us is timeless and knowledge to give us matchless; its counsel for us is relevant; its correction for us is necessary; its authority is absolute; its truths are breathtaking. How precious are the truths given to us in Scripture! But is that what people see when we mention these truths? When they come up in simple conversation, or anywhere, is any connection made between these truths and our affections? Jonathan Edwards identified it rightly as “having affections that correspond to the glory of your affirmations.” When you speak of Heaven and future glory, is it at all evident in your tone that this Heaven and future glory is something to which serious consideration should be given? When you speak of Hell and future damnation for those who are not in Christ, is it all evident in your demeanor that this Hell and future damnation is something that should be carefully thought over? When you speak of the magnificence of God and the preeminence of Christ, is it at all evident in your eyes that the words that you are using are representative of that which is infinitely beyond their ability to fully represent? Or do you talk about God the same way that you talk about cereal? Words are nothing but utterances apart from the things they represent. Words such as salvation, glory, sin, Heaven, Hell, repentance, sanctification, and propitiation all represent greater truths that should, by virtue of their significance, be distinguishable in the manner in which we express them from the manner in which we express everything else. If someone who did not speak English listened to me speak for hours on a number of topics, would they not be able to detect a difference as to which topics were more important to me, the speaker, than others? If a man ran up to you in a grocery story, out of breath, wide-eyed, tightly grasping a box of cereal, and shouted, “Hey, look at my box of...

For awhile fascinated by the siren voice of vain philosophy and affected culture, many of the churches have drawn perilously near to the rocks of heresy and doubt, but divine grace is visiting them, and they will shake off the spell.Everywhere there is a cry for the gospel, for men who will preach it in the love of it, for ministers who will live it, and inoculate others with its life: the church is growing sick of essayists, and asks for men of God. She is weary of word-spinners, and pretenders to deep thought, and she cries for men full of the Holy Spirit, who are lovers of the word and not speakers only. Soul-winners will soon be in demand, and your genteel essayists will have to carry their dry goods to another market. Sane men do not need fiddlers, while the life-boat is being manned to save yonder perishing ones from the devouring deep.-Charles Spurgeon, from January 1873's Sword and Trowel essay. You can download the entire essay here. It's worth the read....

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (Mark 1:17) Only by coming after Jesus can we obtain our heart's desire and be really useful to our fellow men. Oh, how we long to be successful fishers for Jesus! We would sacrifice our lives to win souls. But we are tempted to try methods which Jesus would never have tried. Shall we yield to this suggestion of the enemy? If so, we may splash the water, but we shall never take the fish. We must follow after Jesus if we would succeed. Sensational methods, entertainment, and so forth—are these coming after Jesus? Can we imagine the Lord Jesus drawing a congregation by such means as are now commonly used? What is the result of such expedients? The result is nothing which Jesus will count up at the last great day. We must keep to our preaching as our Master did, for by this means souls are saved. We must preach our Lord's doctrine and proclaim a full and free gospel, for this is the net in which souls are taken, We must preach with His gentleness, boldness, and love, for this is the secret of success with human hearts. We must work under divine anointing, depending upon the sacred Spirit. Thus, coming after Jesus, and not running before Him, not aside from Him, we shall be fishers of men. -C.H. Spurgeon...

A friend once shared, "We pray more to keep saints out of Heaven than we do to keep sinners out of Hell." How many times do we pray for God's hand rather than God's heart? The truth of the matter is most of us would shun the health, wealth and prosperity gospel, but we sure don't pray like it. Our prayers sound just like those heretics preach! We're too busy praying for safety, health and ease. Christ's gospel will never advance this way. We don't pray for lighter loads but the strength of Christ to carry what He has given us! (Colossians 1:29) Listen, Christian, your Lord has saved you to a life of war. Christ has not saved you to sit in the barracks, giving your opinions about war strategy when you've never stepped foot on the battle field. The strategy has already been written. The General has already spoken. Look at yourself in the mirror. Don't you see you are fitted for war? You already have the weapons, the armor, the commission and the promise of victory. You know the enemy. You know there is no guarantee of your safety. You know what you need to do. You know why you've been delaying. Stand up soldier. Don't you hear the bombs dropping? Can't you feel the rattle of the enemies guns? Don't you hear their shouts and taunts? Are you not jealous that men are still robed in enemy garments!? Resolve in your mind to die to yourself and go fight. The blood of brothers before you has advanced the cause. Now yours is needed. Great reformation calls for great sacrifice....

Psalm 40:9-10 I have told the glad news of deliverancein the great congregation;behold, I have not restrained my lips,as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulnessfrom the great congregation. "If we have any humanity in us, seeing men going to perdition, …ought we not be moved by pity, to rescue the poor souls from hell, and teach them the way of salvation?…nothing could be more inconsistent with the nature of faith than that deadness which would lead a man to disregard his brethren, and to keep the light of knowledge choked up within his own breast. When we know God to be our Father, should we not desire that he be known as such by all? And if we do not have this passion, that all creatures do him homage, is it not a sign that his glory means little to us?" -John Calvin...

"When men once do see Christ, all their corruptions cannot keep them from him. It is a simple and often observed fact that the moment the sinner really sees the loveliness of Christ  he cannot be held back by the sins that previously kept him in bondage. Nor can any of the supposed arguments that he had against Christianity, and which often caused him to stumble previously and remain hesitating in unbelief, restrain him once he has seen Christ. Even Satan, his cruel master who could drive him to gather sticks for his own funeral pyre, cannot hold him now. The strong man is bound when once the believer sees Jesus and hears him calling; the devil is now impotent; his prey is snatched from his teeth. And not only certain men, but all types of men, react in the same way when once they have understood what manner of man Christ is. They are irresistibly drawn to him." -John Gerstner, Jonathan Edwards: Evangelist...

I like to read a lot, but I'm not a band-wagon reader. I don't jump on "popular" books even from solid sources when everyone else is. I really enjoy books by dead people, especially those whose teachings have stood the test of time. I simply don't have time to weed through the stuff. I'm not saying it's wrong to read every new-wave thing that comes out - I personally don't. So, up front I haven't read the book Radical by David Platt. That in itself might dismiss most of you from reading the rest of this, but I think we can get a feel for a book by a synopsis, various excerpts, or friend whose read it. I've gotten a decent grasp over what the book is about and I'd like to offer just a short thought The book, from what I can tell, basically lays out the fact that many Christians have sacrificed living for Jesus for the comfortable American Christianity (oxymoron) that's out there. It compels the reader to follow Christ in radical ways; Biblical ways. On the outset I think the book has the wrong title. I think the book should be called "Normal." Here's why: By propping the book up upon the title Radical it's making out the normal Christian life that the scriptures show us to be something other than what American Christianity has to offer. It seems to me to be saying that normal Christianity is American Christianity and radical Christianity is following Jesus and doing what He commands. A few questions: Is there such thing as a radical Christian? Or, are we seeing abnormal "Christianity" and we're so Biblically illiterate that we don't know the difference? Where in scripture does it teach that a Christian has the option of being "normal" or "radical"? Where does scripture teach of a "radical" faith and "radical" obedience? I think that idea is pushed onto the text, rather than drawn from it. I would say it's more of a rebuke to our flesh to call what the scripture shows us as examples of simple faith normal rather than radical. It shows us...

"I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."—1 Corinthians 9:22. Paul's great object was not merely to instruct and to improve, but to save. Anything short of this would have disappointed him; he would have men renewed in heart, forgiven, sanctified, in fact, saved. Have our Christian labours been aimed at anything below this great point? Then let us amend our ways, for of what avail will it be at the last great day to have taught and moralized men if they appear before God unsaved? Blood-red will our skirts be if through life we have sought inferior objects, and forgotten that men needed to be saved. Paul knew the ruin of man's natural state, and did not try to educate him, but to save him; he saw men sinking to hell, and did not talk of refining them, but of saving from the wrath to come. To compass their salvation, he gave himself up with untiring zeal to telling abroad the gospel, to warning and beseeching men to be reconciled to God. His prayers were importunate and his labours incessant. To save souls was his consuming passion, his ambition, his calling. He became a servant to all men, toiling for his race, feeling a woe within him if he preached not the gospel. He laid aside his preferences to prevent prejudice; he submitted his will in things indifferent, and if men would but receive the gospel, he raised no questions about forms or ceremonies: the gospel was the one all-important business with him. If he might save some he would be content. This was the crown for which he strove, the sole and sufficient reward of all his labours and self-denials. Dear reader, have you and I lived to win souls at this noble rate? Are we possessed with the same all-absorbing desire? If not, why not? Jesus died for sinners, cannot we live for them? Where is our tenderness? Where our love to Christ, if we seek not His honour in the salvation of men? O that the Lord would saturate...