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“Irving Baptist Fellowship, Irving Texas”

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On the 4th of July America will celebrate her independence from England. The patriots of old were wise enough to write into our founding documents freedom of and from religion. They attempted to prevent the establishment of a “state-church” religion that forced people to worship in a particular way.

From time to time on this blog I receive comments from people who are “believers in Christ” but are living in areas that are hostile to them because of their faith. The most amazing thing about these brothers and sisters is they have NEVER asked for money…only that I would pray for them and lead the church I pastor to pray for them.  Because they can not be identified I simply say to them I do pray for you dear friends and I pray that your faith is contagious and that you are safe.

It may be hard for the Christian in America to understand the hardships so many of our believing brothers and sisters are experiencing around the world. I was just reading in the magazine “Voice of the Martrys” about those who have been beaten, thrown in prison, bombed, hacked into pieces, boiled, and yes, eaten by their attackers.  All of this is done because of a devilish hatred of Christianity and of the Jesus that we worship.  It is hard for me to understand how we in America can take the freedom we now have for granted. Sunday after Sunday empty seats fill churches across our land. I hope this freedom, the freedom to worship, is not soon lost.

To my friends who have requested prayer…as long as I have breath I will continue to pray for you. One of my dear friends (one of the kids from my student ministry days) has accepted a call to take the gospel into a muslim region that has not been introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot say his/her name or reveal where they are going. All I can say is they need your prayers for safety, to find a man of peace in the region and an open door to plant the gospel. Pray friends for the lost of the 10/40 window where most of the lost and poor of the world live today. Pray for those on mission to bring freedom to the oppressed.  So as we Americans celebrate our freedom pray for those taking the gospel to those who desperately need the freedom that only Christ can bring.

See You in Church!  DF

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   MY SPECIAL FRIENDS 

When we gather to worship, my greatest hope is that we will meet God in the middle of all that we do. My desire is to experience His power and His love as we worship the Lord Jesus together. Having worshipped with many wonderful people through the years, I must say that there are those “special folks” who have much to teach us about pure worship. Jesus described this kind of worship to the woman at the well in John 4:24 when he said; “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

When I came to serve the church I now pastor I met Kay, an older Downs lady. She was really my first close encounter with the Downs world. Kay was 49 years old and had been cared for by her aunt since her parent’s death. She was spunky, opinionated, loved books, and was a spontaneous worshipper. Some where in her past, someone had attempted to teach her how to sign to music. Honestly, I don’t know how to sign but I enjoy watching those who do. Kay didn’t know how to sign but understood its expression of the heart. On more than one occasion, when the Spirit touched her heart, she would just overflow and jump to her feet, rushing to the front of the church to sign for Jesus. As she signed, she always looked up and never at the congregation. She was worshipping in Spirit and truth.  Every year on her birthday she would come into my office and remind me how old she was getting and expect to receive a gift. I would call her an old woman and she would jump up and down and laugh. Kay loved to come to church!  Her church honored her and included her in every aspect of who we are as a church. At 60 years of age, she went home to be with Jesus. On a Wednesday evening I shared of her passing and one by one our members shared what Kay had meant to them. She showed us what pure worship should be.

Another of our “special people” is Robert. He is mildly autistic and is an adult in his mid-thirties. There are issues that Robert has to deal with that are involuntary such as noises or guttural sounds. I am told that it is his body stimulating his brain to move on. It is these noises that keep him active and involved in life. Our church accepts Robert and is amazed at his biblical depth. He sings in the choir and contributes in his Bible study class.  Robert is not an easy read to the person who meets him for the first time. There is a depth to him that requires a person to move into the uncomfortable zone a bit to get to know him. But as I have said, Robert’s depth is amazing, and on more than one occasion, he has enriched a lesson by his insight. He is a multi-dimensional individual who loves classical music and can identify the music by title and composer. He cooks for his parents. He grows his own food in a garden which he plants and harvests himself.  Robert has taught us much about consistency of true worship.

A couple of years ago, our family was blessed with a niece named Berkeley who  has Downs Syndrome. What helped our nephew and his wife the most was how quickly their church rushed in to assist them with child care as Berkeley had some hospital time. Some parent time out was also offered by the church in order for Berkeley’s parents to have some much needed mental health breaks. Acceptance and recognition of this special gift of life that God has given is important for the parents and the church. Berkeley requires a different kind of care on one hand, but on the other she is a little girl who loves attention. She needs to be taught. She needs to know that Jesus loves her. That I am sure will never be a problem for her.

There are “special folks” that are severely challenged mentally and physically. Parents of these children need adult connection and conversation. They need lots of help and I think the church should be on the front line of provision. Perhaps in your church there are doctors or nurses who would be willing to serve along with other volunteers to provide childcare while parents have a Parent’s Night Out.  Providing a meal, a thoughtful bunch of flowers, or notes of encouragement could be your ministry to these families. 

These “special folks” are not weird, stupid or contagious—they are God’s special children. Get to know them and you will be blessed, I know our church has been.

Come join us in Worship…and come just as you are! DF

                     

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  Re-Gifting

So you receive a gift and you already have 3 of whatever it is and so you take that gift and re-wrap it in fresh new wrapping paper and you give that gift away. Now is that being tacky or practical? Well, I would say that was being frugal with what you have and there should be no problem in giving away a duplicate gift. No problem, that is, unless you forget who gave you the gift in the first place and you give as a gift the gift that they had given you. What an embarrassing problem for you. I don’t know that we’ve ever re-gifted a gift but we have had back up toasters and irons and mixers in the closet for years.

I want us to consider re-gifting in the context of the coming of Christ. John writes the familiar passage in his 3rd chapter: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  So Jesus comes to us as a gift. Just so we understand that when a gift is given freely it doesn’t cost you any money, you cannot pay the person for it or earn it for then it would cease to be a gift.  So, what is the catch attached to this “free gift?” The condition is that you become a friend of Jesus. Well, how does that happen? Paul writes in Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”  So you have received a free gift by faith that Jesus died for you.

Now what does God want you to do with this gift?  Right! Re-gift it! Matthew tell us in the book named after him, chapter 28:19-20; “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you until the end of the age.”  So the wonderful gift of eternal life that was given to you was designed to be given away, again, again and again. As the world turns its attention to gifts, and holidays (holy days) and we gather to celebrate Christmas (Christ mass), let’s really take every opportunity to re-gift our faith this Christmas.

Heavenly Father, help us to be aware of those around us this Christmas season and for opportunities to serve You and tell others about You. In Jesus name…

A Blessed Christmas Season to All of You! DF

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IT’S YOUR CHOICE!

For the past few Sunday evenings we have been examining the 27 most asked questions about heaven. People want to know if their favorite little pet will be with them in heaven–really? There are more thoughtful questions and the Bible really speaks to many of those questions so that we can know what to expect on one hand, but on the other hand we cannot even imagine how wonderful a place heaven will be. The late Baptist preacher R.G. Lee said this about heaven; “It is the most beautiful place that the mind of God could invision and that the hands of God could create.”

Actually for the believer in Christ heaven is already a reality in your life, that is, you are connected to your future home. Philippians 3:20 says; “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”  But to live in heaven is really a choice. Better than 80% of people surveyed believe in heaven and further they believe that they will go to heaven when they die. But, when asked how they know they will go to heaven many fumble and stumble in trying to answer that question. So can you know for certain that you will go to heaven when you die? Yes!  In 1John chapter 5 verses 1-13 it is clearly spelled out for you. Verse 13 says; “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”  Verses 1-4 says, ^1″Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”  So JESUS is a choice that you must make to inherit heaven. In fact, his is the only name needed to get into heaven. To NOT choose Jesus is to choose to be eternally separated from God. Who said this, some radical Baptist preacher? No,  God inspired these words in Acts 4:12 speaking of Jesus the disciple said; “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Well, as the little sign in the picture above says, “It’s Your Choice.” So what is the other choice? It means to separated from a loving God. It means separated from those made righteous. It means never going to heaven. It means that God’s judgment is headed your way.  Romans 2:5 “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”  I really don’t want to get into the lake of burning fire stuff or the kind of people occupying hell like murderes, child abusers, thieves, liars, prostitutes and more. By the way all of those type of people could be forgiven if they made the right choice but the thing that makes hell, hell to me, is the fact that God will not be there, God’s grace will not be there, love will not be there. My prayer is that YOU will not be there. It is simply a choice. To choose Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is THE choice. To not do so is the only other choice.  Simply put  it is a choice-what will your choice be? If you are undecided just look at the picture posted above.

Don’t Miss Church Sunday, you WILL miss a Blessing!  DF

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