www.msbaptist.orgJuly 1, 2019 VOL. 73 NO. 13

JOURNAL OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

Rev. Grover Laird

How We See Jesus I want us to take a look at Jesus

by Grover LairdEditor's Note: From the July-August 2000 issue of The Revival-ist, published by Bro. Grover Laird.“But we see Jesus, who wasmade a little lower than theangels for the suffering of death,crowned with glory and honour;that he by the grace of Godshould taste death for everyman.” (Hebrews 2:9)

In this message I want us totake a look at Jesus. I want us tosee Him as He was before theworld. Then I want us to seeHim during Old Testamenttimes. Thirdly, I want us to lookat Him while He was upon earth.In the fourth place, I want us tosee Him as He is now. Lastly, Iwant us to see Him as He will bein the future. Once some Greekscame to Philip and said, “Sir, wewould see Jesus” (John 12:21).If you share their feelings,maybe this message will helpsome.

I. JESUS,Before The World Was

Jesus has always been. Somestart the story of Jesus withBethlehem, but the Bible speaks

of Him being active from ever-lasting. The Psalmist couldhave been speaking of Jesuswhen he said, “...even from ev-erlasting to everlasting, thouart God” (Psalm 90:2). Whenthe prophet Micah wastelling usthat Jesuswould beborn inBethlehemhe wrote,“But thou,BethlehemEp hr a t a h ,though thoube littleamong the thousands of Judah,yet out of thee shall he comeforth unto me that is to be rulerin Israel; whose goings forthhave been from of old, from ev-erlasting” (Micah 5:2). This tellsus that Jesus has been activefrom everlasting, or forever.

Back before the world wascreated, we find that Jesus wasglorified with the Father (John17:5), that he was rich with theFather (II Corinthians 8:9), andthat He was in the form of Godand equal with God (Philippians

Proposed classroom building for the new Christian Academy

Christian Grade School Beginningon Philippine Bible College Campus

by Jimmy & Julie WalkerMissionaries to the Philippines

For many years it has beenthe desire of the BMA BibleCollege to establish a Christiangrade school on our campus. Iam pleased to announce thatwe now have First Graders oncampus! This will be a pilot yearas we finish all therequirements, through theDepartment of Education to getour certification. We areplanning our grand openingnext August and hope to offergrades 1, 2 & 11. The goal is toadd a grade each year until wehave all levels through grade12.

Why start a Christian gradeschool? This will be atremendous outreach to thecommunity around the college.It will be a place where childrencan come each day and receive aChrist-centered education andbe discipled. The school will alsogive us opportunities to reachparents with the Gospel.

The grade school will be atremendous financial blessingto the BMA Bible College. Rightnow around 95% of the collegesoperation budget comes fromchurches and individual donorsin the US. We anticipate thatthe grade school will be able to

provide around 40% of the fundsneeded to perpetuate the collegeministry. This is the first stepin helping the college to be comea self-supported ministry.

Here’s What We NeedIn order for us to grow the

grade school we need 12additional classrooms. It is notnecessary to have all of them atone time, but we will need 3 bythis next July and we wouldneed to begin construction byJanuary. How much will it cost?I'm glad you asked! Eachclassroom will cost around$10,000. Can you help provide aclassroom? Can your churchhelp provide a classroom? Yourgift will be a blessing that willhave an impact for decades tocome. Please prayerfullyconsider being a partner in thisproject!

Offerings can be sent to:BMAA Missions Office, P.O.Box 878, Conway, AR 72033 orGarrett Memorial BaptistChurch, P.O. Box 223, Hope,AR 71802

Designate your gift toBMABC Philippines ChristianAcademy. If you would like totalk further about this, shootme an email atbmabcphilippines@yahoo.com.

Bro. Grover Laird Passes AwayGrover Laird, 90, passed away

Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at hisresidence. He was born Janu-ary 11, 1929 to the late ThomasLaird and the late Lina BroomLaird. Bro. Laird has been aMinister of The Gospel for 74years. Twelve of those yearswere in full-time evangelism.

He was a member of EastFulton Baptist Church, Fulton,Mississippi. He pastoredchurches in Mississippi, Ken-tucky, and Texas and served asa state missionary in Texas and

K en tu c ky .For over 20years he hada jail minis-try andspoke on ra-dio stationslocally andin the Phil-ippines. Hep u b l i s h e d"The Revivalist" for 44 years,wrote 7 Christian tracts andpublished a book "Sermons, De-votionals, and Thoughts". He

was a graduate of SoutheasternBaptist College, Laurel, Missis-sippi, and received an HonoraryDoctorate Degree from BaptistMissionary Association Theo-logical Seminary, Jacksonville,Texas. Bro. Laird was the re-cipient of Itawamba County'sCitizen of the Year Award in1988.

Services were held on Satur-day June 29, 2019, at EastFulton Baptist Church withMinisters Dewitt Bain, RogerLaird, Kevin Clayton, and JohnLewis conducting.

Survivors include his wife of73 years, Ester Mae Laird;daughters: Fran Wolski(Tommy) Thomas of Counce,Tennessee; Evelynn (Tony) Dyerof Crandall, Texas; MargaretSheffield (John) Butler ofFulton, and Nancy (Tommy)Edwards of Petal; granddaugh-ters: Tammy (Tom) Coltharp,Ashley (Billy) Barnett, Lisa(Eric) Darracott; grandsons:Larry Moore, Garrett Dyer,Bruce (Lesley) Sheffield, DustinHarris, Brady (Heather)Edwards; 11 great-grandchil-dren. Special thank you to hiscare giver Norma Patrick.

Bro. Laird was Preceded indeath by his parents, grandson,Thomas Moore, 5 brothers and3 sisters, and son-in-law, DanWolski.

Memorials may be made toBMA of America Foreign Mis-sionary Department, .PO. Box878, Conway, AR 72033.

Rev. Grover Laird

2:6). We also find that He wasloved of the Father and was onewith the Father, just as weshould be one (John 17:22,23).Jesus also shared in the cre-ation of the world, with all thingsbeing made by Him and for Him(John 1:1-3,14; Colossians1:16,17; Hebrews 1:2). It wassettled back then that Jesus

continued on page 2

2 July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

MississippiBaptistChildren'sHome

118 Lowe Road, Laurel, Mississippi 39443 - (601) 426-3928Dwight Lindsey - Director

Lindsey

July 13 is designated as Volunteer Work Days. Each is a Saturdayand we will work on various projects from 8 a.m. to noon each day(longer if individuals wish to keep working). There is painting,installing equipment, flooring, gardening, pressure washing… andso much more to do! If you have equipment and tools, bring them.If you, or folks in your church, or ministry organization have a willingheart to serve, allow the Lord to use you on these days. If you cannotmake any of these days, almost any day this summer is availablefor your volunteer help. Give us a call and we will put you to work!

Southeastern Work Days!- YOUR HELP NEEDED -

would come and die to save usfrom our sins (Luke 22:22; IPeter 1:20; Revelations 13:8b).Jesus was active from everlast-ing.

II. JESUS,In Old Testament Times

As we have already seen,when God created the heavenand the earth, Jesus had a partin it (Genesis 1:26). When theOld Testament spoke of theAngel of the Lord, it might havebeen our Lord Jesus (Exodus3).When three messengers of theLord visited Abraham in theplains of Mamre, two went to-ward Sodom while Abrahamstood before the Lord (Genesis18). The one Abraham talked tomay have been Jesus our Lord.The Bible clearly states that “Noman hath seen God at anytime...” (John 1:18; I John 4:12).Yet during the days of the OldTestament, different referencesare made to men seeing the Lord(Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:11;Numbers 12:6-8; Deuteronomy

Fostering Faith...in prayerWhen preparing to come to

the Children’s Home it was anatural inclination to look tothe writings of people likeGeorge Mueller, a man whofaithfully served the Lord byserving children. He is quotedto say in his autobiography,“Every child of God is not calledby the Lord to establish schoolsand orphan houses and to trustin the Lord for means for them.Yet, there is no reason why youmay not experience, far moreabundantly than we do now, Hiswillingness to answer theprayers of Hischildren.” Mueller was knowna man of faith and prayer. Iwould not put myself in the samecategory as this faithful man ofGod, but I think we would all bewise to be challenged by his tes-timony.

Scripture tells us in James4:2-3, “…ye have not, becauseye ask not. Ye ask, and receivenot, because ye ask amiss, that

ye may consume it upon yourlusts.” I often examine my re-quests for proper motives of glo-rifying God instead of myself.But, even self-examination canbe tricky business while we re-main in the flesh. I now makemy efforts and ideas a matter ofprayer and faith while I awaitthe fruit for examination thatwill identify their root.

We began promoting renova-tion projects to you back in April.We were met with enthusiasmand many statements express-ing the desire to help along theselines, but statements were asmuch as we could get for a littlewhile. About half way throughJune people began calling andscheduling times to come andwork. We are very excited forthe work that is being accom-plished now and our scheduleover the remainder of the sum-mer. This has reminded me ofanother Mueller quote, “I be-lieve God has heard my prayers.He will make it manifest in His

own good time that He has heardme. I have recorded my peti-tions that when God has an-swered them, His name will beglorified...The greater the diffi-culty to be overcome, the morewill it be seen to the glory of Godhow much can be done by prayerand faith.” As the old sayings gowe are not counting our chick-ens before they hatch or puttingthe cart before the proverbialhorse, but we are being filledwith joy by God’s answer toprayer. Once again Mueller putsit best, “The joy which answersto prayer give, cannot be de-scribed; and the impetus whichthey afford to the spiritual life isexceedingly great.”

We invite you to join us inprayer and/or join in God’s an-swer to our prayer. We still havea few days in July & August wecan put you to work. If you canpaint, wood work, lay tile, orga-nize, or tote water to those whodo I am sure we can find a wayyou can serve with us.

Continue to pray for our po-tential cases, patience, and per-severance. Please contact us ifyou would like for us to come toyour church in August, Septem-ber, or beyond. Contact the of-fice (601-426-3928), ourFacebook page, or my cell phone(662-605-0996). Stay on the look-out for updates, prayer needs,and service opportunities.

A group from Temple Baptist Church in Laurel recently helped with some painting and renovation at the Home

Helping At The Children's Home

34:10;). This was most likely theLord Jesus.

Job referred to his Redeemeras the One that would come toearth in the “latter day.” Thiswas Jesus. He said that hisRedeemer was alive at thattime—“For I know that my re-deemer liveth, and that he shallstand at the latter day upon theearth” (Job 19:25). Jesus was,

therefore, Job’s Savior then, justas He is ours now. David saidthat the Lord God spoke to hisLord about setting at His righthand (Psalm 110:1). Jesus re-ferred to this verse and saidthat He was the one David wasspeaking about (Matthew 22:42-45). Therefore Jesus was David’sLord and Savior back in OldTestament days, as He is ourtoday. When the prophet Micahspoke of Jesus as the One “whosegoings forth have been from of

old, from everlasting”(Micah5:2), he spoke as if Jesus wasbusy in his day. I do feel thatJesus was involved in the thingsthat were going on in Old Testa-ment times.

III. JESUS, In New Testa-ment Times

As we have already noticed,Old Testament saints considerJesus as their personal Saviourwho was alive then (Job 19:25).Many of these desired to seeHim and be with Him, as waslater experienced by theApostles and others—“For ver-

ily I say unto you, That manyprophets and righteous menhave desired to see those thingswhich ye see, and have not seemthem; and to hear those thingswhich ye hear, and have notheard them.” (Matthew 13:17)Therefore, the days that Jesuswas upon earth was a very spe-cial time for mankind.

Though Jesus was littleknown until He was thirty, af-ter then His short ministry ofthree and a half years was full.

After John had finished his ac-count of the ministry of Jesushe wrote, “And there are alsomany other things which Jesusdid, the which, if they should bewritten every one, I suppose thateven the world itself could notcontain the books that shouldbe written. Amen.” (John 21:25)It is amazing to watch Jesusmove from one miracle to an-other without any waste of time.

One thing that Jesus did dur-ing those three and a half yearsthat seem to create much ex-citement, was His ministry tothe physical needs of people. Inspeaking of that part of His min-

istry, Peter said, “...who wentabout doing good, and healingall that were oppressed of thedevil...” (Acts 10:38) He fed thehungry, restored sight to theblind, made the lane to walk,healed withered hands,straightened people who werebowed together, healed all man-ner of sickness, cast out devilsthat afflicted and tormentedpeople, and even raised the dead.The bereaved were made happyand the hurting were comforted.Nothing like this has ever hap-

continued on page 4

How We See JesusFrom Page 1

I am so glad that I have received thiseternal Son of God as my Savior and Lord.

3July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

4229 Highway 15 North, Laurel, Mississippi 39440, (601) 426-6346

Southeastern Baptist College Serving ChristWith A Biblical World ViewIn A Christian Atmosphere

Dr. Scott CarsonPresident

Danny Pitts Lecture SeriesSoutheastern Baptist College will host the

Danny Pitts Lecture Series with Dr. CharleyHolmes, President of the Baptist Missionary As-sociation Theological Seminary, as guest speakerto be held on the campus of the college. Mark yourcalendars for August 19-21. The program willbegin at 7 p.m. each evening.

SBC ChoirWe are blessed to have Krista McKenzie as the

Director of our newly formed SBC Choir. Kristahas recruited fifteen local students who will reg-ister for the Fall Semester. Does your church orministry want to host the SBC Choir? Now is thetime to reserve dates for their performance. Hurry,we anticipate their schedule to fill up quickly.Contact Krista at 601-426-6346. Please note theprofessor highlight that features Krista and hervision for the Choir.

President’s Perspective“What shall we then say to

these things? If God be for us,who can be against us?” Romans8:31

The evidence of God workingon behalf of Southeastern Bap-tist College is obvious! He hasdone so much for the college inrecent years and continues toshow us the way forward.

Last year, the SBC staffhosted representatives of ouraccrediting agency, the Asso-ciation for Biblical Higher Edu-cation (ABHE), on their ten-yearre-certification visit. We suc-cessfully made adjustments toall their recommendations andin February 2019, we were af-firmed for an additional tenyears with their accreditation.We treasure our relationshipwith ABHE and will endeavorto maintain our accreditation

with this great Christian insti-tution.

Though I write this articlebefore our fiscal year ends onJune 28th, it is clear that theLord will en-able SBC tofinish fiscallyin the black. Ithank all whohelped ust h r o u g hprayer andthrough giv-ing. Praise theLord!

Having achieved this goal isa major strategic step forwardfor SBC. With great vision, theBoard of Trustees approved ourcollege to pursue the SouthernAssociation of Colleges andSchools (SACS) accreditationmore than ten years ago. WhenI became president I made it a

priority to meet the first require-ment for application. Having fin-ished fiscally in the black threeyears running, qualifies us toapply for SACS accreditation.Led by Dean Walker, the staffhas already done a great deal ofpreparatory work getting readyto submit our application. Butthe effort will not stop there. Itwill increase greatly as we be-gin the multi-year process forSACS accreditation. We knowthere will be tremendous chal-lenges ahead, but with God’shelp and through hard work anddetermination, we will do it!

July 1, marks the beginningof Southeastern Baptist CollegeSpecial Emphasis months. Spe-cial Emphasis will run betweenJuly 1 and August 31. We havea new campaign titled, “Clearthe Wall”. Each BMA of Missis-sippi church and other support-

ing churches, will soon receive apacket containing a BullseyePoster, a “Clear the Wall” Ban-ner, and 100 numbered enve-lopes. The Bullseye Postershows several major projectsand the cost for each one. Theseprojects will help you under-stand where your donation isgoing. Each envelope has asingle number on it rangingfrom one to 100. Your churchmembers are encouraged to takeone or more envelopes from thebulletin board where the posterand banner are located in yourchurch and place into the enve-lope, the dollar amount as indi-cated on the outside. For in-stance, a person may take thenumber 86 envelope and place$86 inside (cash or check). An-other person may select thenumber 18 and that personwould put into the envelope, $18

and return it to the church astheir donation to SBC for ourSpecial Emphasis campaign.The goal is to “Clear the Wall” ofall envelopes, fill all the enve-lopes with the amount indicatedon each and at the end of theSpecial Emphasis months, thechurch would send the muchneeded donation to SBC. Pleasenote the picture that illustrateshow to set up the “Clear theWall” fund raising campaign onthe churches bulletin board.

SBC has many projects thatmust be addressed. The need isgreat, but our God is greater! Iknow He will bless both you andHis work through this project.Thank you for helping SBC moveforward with the knowledge thatyou are continuing to invest inthe spiritual lives of our stu-dents who will, in turn, impactthe world for Christ!

“Cast thy bread upon thewaters: for thou shalt find itafter many days.” Ecclesiastes11:1

Equipping the Saints!Dr. Carson

Dean Jan Walker leads a faculty training session on updates to SBCpolicies and procedures

Newest AccoladeSoutheastern Baptist College was named the

"Most Affordable Bachelors Programs in Chris-tian Ministry, Biblical Studies & Theology" forthe 2019-2020 academic year! This recognitioncan be found on the nogre.com website.

A Golden Opportunity!SBC possesses the 2018 Gold Award level as a

military friendly college! Have you served inAmerica’s armed forces? Then you probably haveVeterans Administration tuition benefits thatyou can use toward a free education right here atSBC. I urge you to contact your local VA represen-tative for an evaluation of your benefits. Youearned them! SBC has numerous students receiv-ing VA assistance for both online and in-class-room tuition.

How to set up SBC Special Emphasis Packet1. Use a bulletin board in an obvious location2. Arrange items in the SBC packet as indicated above or similar3. Explain to congregatoin how to utilize the envelopes4. Collect envelopes throughout the month of July and August5. Tally collection and send to SBC the beginning of September

SBC Alumni Gifts in Recognition:Brother & Mrs. Harold Floyd in honor of Chris and Cal FloydMr. & Mrs. Donald Phillips in honor of Milford & Elsie MagersMr. & Mrs. Donald Phillips in honor of Paul KellarR.D. & Hilda Cline in honor of Dr. Philip BryanLebanon Baptist Brotherhood in memory of Marion WilsonRuben & Janice Bryant in memory of Dr. Eugene MurphyWillie Jones in memory of Danny PittsTed Musgrove in memory of Ollie ParkerShirlene Smith in memory of Arthur SmithDr. Medrick Savell in memory of Margaret SavellDr. Medrick Savell in memory of Dr. Jentry BondDr. Medrick Savell in memory of Nadine EllzeyDr. Medrick Savell in memory of Danny PittsDr. Medrick Savell in memory of June MeelerMr. & Mrs. Donald Phillips in memory of Vernon & Lela PhillipsPhilip & Becky Ray in memory of Danny PittsJames Blaylock in memory of Alan GregoryTom & Vicky Simmons in memory of Dr. & Mrs. Gerald KellarR.D. & Hilda Cline in memory of Dr. Jentry Bond

College Report Continued on Page 7

4 July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

Don J. Brown, EditorE-Mail - editor@msbaptist.orgWeb site www.msbaptist.org

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Published on the 1st and15th of each month by the Bap-tist Missionary Association ofMississippi. Periodical postagepaid at Hattiesburg, MS 39402.

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pened before or since. But thiswas not why He came. He justdid these things somewhat onthe side.

Another part of our Lord’sministry was preaching andteaching. It was not what theywere accustom to hearing. WhenHe finished His Sermon on theMount, “...the people were as-tonished at his doctrine: for hetaught them as one having au-thority, and not as the scribes”(Matthew 7:28,29). When Hepreached in the synagogue atNazareth the people wereamazed—“And all bare him wit-ness, and wondered at the gra-cious words which proceeded outof his mouth...”(Luke 4:22).Later, He preached inCapernaum and caused thepeople to marvel—“And theywere astonished at his doctrine:for his word was with power”(Luke 4:32). Officers from amongthe Jews said it right when theyreported what they had heard—“...Never man spake like thisman” (John 7:46). What a bless-ing it must have been to hearHim preach! Surely one day wewill enjoy that blessing. Yet asimportant as His preaching was,this was not His main reasonfor coming.

Another thing that Jesus ac-complished while He was hereis mentioned in I Peter 2:21.Here the Bible says, “For evenhereunto were ye called: becauseChrist also suffered for us, leav-ing us an example, that yeshould follow his steps.” ThoughPeter was speaking of sufferingwhen he gave us this verse, Ibelieve that Jesus is our examplein everything. I believe He isour example in prayer, in howwe should feel about our en-emies, concerning how we go tochurch, in being meek and lowly,in being compassionate forpeople who are hurting, in seek-ing the lost, in having a strongdesire to please our HeavenlyFather, in resisting Satan withthe Bible, and in being willingto suffer for the Cause of theLord. Jesus has given us a per-

How We See JesusFrom Page 2

...God testifying of his gifts: and by ithe being dead yet speaketh. Heb. 11:4d

A Mighty Oak Has Fallen...The title of this column is a quote someone made when a dear

and famous preacher passed away several years ago. That indi-vidual was a leader, an example, and a faithful preacher of thewhole Gospel of Christ.

Our dear friend Bro. Grover Laird passed away recently and thosewords are certainly applicable to him as well. His passing willcertainly leave a hole in the hearts of his wife and children, but alsoin those of us who loved him and respected him. If you knew GroverLaird and came in contact with him on a personal level or heard himpreach in your church, you will always feel that relationship.

I first met Bro. Grover Laird as a member of Parkview BaptistChurch in Gautier, Mississippi, when he was our revival speaker. Myfirst memory of that encounter of over 40 years ago was the fact thathe loved homemade ice cream. That comes from an after servicefellowship at the pastor's home with just a few folks.

I can't speak for all preachers and pastors, but I was initiallyintimidated in his presence. After hearing him preach I felt woefullyill prepared and uneducated. I have several very fond memories ofBro. Laird. One was his inability to stop laughing at a joke told bya preacher during a Missions Conference at Hopewell Church nearFulton. I was sitting behind him and was impressed with the factthat "he enjoyed jokes just like us regular folks". If you knew himyou would also have been shocked (and impressed) at his continu-ous laughing, even after the preacher had moved on to his nextpoint.

Bro. Laird would always ask me to stay with him and Mrs. Lairdwhen I was in North Mississippi for a meeting. I constantly declined- again, I was intimidated...

Eventually I did take him and Mrs. Laird up on their invitation andthoroughly enjoyed the stay. My wife and I stayed in their homeonce. When I got up in the middle of the night, I found him in their3rd bedroom either studying or praying...I am sure it was probablyboth.

When I spoke to Mrs. Laird the day after her husband had diedwe talked about many things, but one thing that she stated was this,"there are worn spots in carpet of the closet of that 3rd bedroomwhere he would spend hours in prayer".

Grover and Ester Laird represented the Lord and his work withgrace and dignity. He will certainly be missed by his family, but alsoby his preacher brethren that loved and respected him and hisministry and by the example he set before all of us.

The writer of Hebrews on speaking about faith referenced Abeland his witness...He said Able offered a more excellent sacrifice.Grover Laird offered his sacrifice and because of his life and legacywe can say of him as the writer said of Abel...

We have included in this issue a sermon by Bro. Laird beginningon page 1. I encourage you to read all of it and contemplate on howyou see Jesus. Bro. Laird's ministry was broad in its scope. As youread about him on page one you will see he was a pastor, anevangelist, a jail-ministry worker, a model citizen, a devotedhusband and father. Most of all he was a minister of the Gospel ofJesus Christ. He lived for Jesus and now he is in his Savior'spresence.

He is seeing the Jesus he loved, served, and preached about forover 70 years.

fect example, and we should seekto live our life by it.

But neither His healing, norHis preaching, nor His exem-plary life were the main reasonsfor His coming. He came to thisworld because the world had asin problem. Sin would ruin ourlife here and carry us to eternaltorment hereafter, and Jesuswas the only One that couldsolve the problem. We were allsinners before God (Romans3:23), and sin had to be ac-counted for (Romans 6:23).Jesus, therefore, came and tookthe blame for it all and paid thepenalty on the cross—“Who hisown self bare our sins in his own

Southeastern Baptist College Special EmphasisMonths are July and August. Each BMA of

Mississippi church will soon receive a“CLEAR THE WALL TARGET” banner and

a ‘Bullseye for Blessings’visual to guide all to share $$$ blessings towardspecific projects for much needed SBC progress.

CLEAR THE WALLIn July & August

body on the tree, that we, beingdead to sin, should live untorighteousness: by whose stripesye were healed” (I Peter 2:24).He tasted death for every man(Hebrews 2:9), and invites all tocome to Him for everlasting life(John 3:36).

All who receive Him as theirpersonal Savior become the sonsof God—“But as many as re-ceived him, to them gave hepower to become the sons of God,even to them that believe on hisname” (John 1:12).

Jesus was a person that noone could find any fault in, aperson who suffered so much forothers, and a person who in-vited all to be a part of His Heav-enly family. Everyone ought tolove Jesus and choose Him astheir Saviour and Lord.

continued on page 7

5July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

Anders Lee

MINISTERING TO YOUNG PEOPLEby Anders Lee

Church seeking Full-time Association & Youth PastorFirst Baptist Church of Bay Springs, Mississippi, is looking and

praying for an individual to be a dynamic youth and children’spastor while also serving as associate pastor. Duties will includeteaching youth on Wednesday nights, organizing youth andchildren’s events throughout the year, as well as taking the kidsto camps for each age group in the summer & VBS oversight andinvolvement.

The position also will include involvement in the kid’s lives byattending extracurricular school activities and functions & extra-church activities in which the youth are involved. AssociatePastoral duties will include virtually any duty performed by thepastor as needed (i.e. hospital visits, giving sermon in pulpit, etc.).

Please contact Gabe McNeil at 601–670–6374 via phone call ortext message, or email at Gabe@mcneilcabinets.com.

West Point Church seeks pastorLone Oak Baptist Church in West Point, Mississippi, is seeking

a full-time pastor. Anyone feeling led should send their resume' toJoe Arick, P.O. Box 1097, West Point ,MS 39773, or emailjoe@ahelectricalhvac.com. He may also be contacted at 662-574-5391.

Church to host Singing SchoolRocky Branch Baptist Church near Sumrall, Mississippi, will

have a Gospel Music School for all ages July 15-19. It will beconducted by Marty Phillips of Jeffress Phillips Music of Crossett,Arkansas. Lessons will be each evening at 6:30. If you have anyquestions contact Judy Riley at 601-270-4301.

Revival ServicesRocky Branch Baptist Church, 2401 Rocky Branch Rd, Sumrall,

will hold revival services July 21-26 each evening at 7:00. Guestspeakers will be Monday-Greg Bennett, Tuesday-Bryson Haden,Wednesday-Glen Pace, Thursday-Chuck Lee, and Friday-Bran-don Wilson. Please join us.

Church Positions & News

Dealing With Tradition In The Church

are sacred and you can’t messwith them! So here is my advicefor what it’s worth.

ALL TRADITIONSAREN’T BAD!

My old pastor use to say that.In fact I can hear him say “Alltraditions are not bad.” He wouldsay that right before he askedeveryone to go around and greetfolks after the first song of theworship service. Now you knowyou’re Baptist if you do that.

When you go to a new churchto serve as a youth guy, remem-ber that. Find out what the besttraditions are in the church. Theones they look for-ward to themost. Talkto some ofthe oldermembers andjust askedthem, when didthis start andwhy? Participatein them. Usethem to gain rapport with yourpeople. You might find out some-thing unique and wonderfulabout the church that you didn’tknow.

BE WISE!The worst thing you could do

is to say or think that some ofthe traditions are ridiculous andthey need to be changed.Granted… some of them may beextremely useless and probablynot even characteristic of a NewTestament church. But… youhave to be wise!

Why? First, things that areembedded in the fabric of thechurch aren’t just going to upand change because a “Johnnycome lately” youth guy thinksdifferently about them. In fact,some of the traditions of a churchmight be older than you! If youare in an older traditionalchurch, the older generation ismore than likely the financialbasis of it all, including youryouth department. So be care-ful with them!

Second it would be foolish tosay some things to the wrongpeople. Youth guys tend to grow

close to their teens through alittle time. They find themselveshaving conversations with theyouth of the church about theweird traditions. Next thing youknow the grandson of the oledeacon is sitting at a family gath-ering and blurts out some ofyour conversation. Yep… that’sgonna back fire.

IS IT WORTH IT?As I said above, some tradi-

tions have nothing to do withthe function of a church. But ifyou push to change somethingquickly, you may end up in apower struggle that damages

the overallunity of thechurch andaffects your

ability tomake progress

in your youthministry. Think

about it, as ayounger personwho is spry and

thinks on their feet quicklymight win a debate on such anissue, but what did you reallydo. You may have shot yourselfin the foot! When one does thatthey build walls between keyleaders or older people that cannever be brought down. Youmight win the battle but youwill lose the overall effort.

WORK AROUND THEM!Unless it is just scripturally

wrong, instead of making it yourpersonal agenda to change anold tradition, graciously createnew things that will build yourimmediate ministry and makeit stronger. Get busy on dis-cipleship and connecting withyour teens. Work towards qual-ity, continuity in your ministry,and relevance in style to pushforward with the younger gen-eration you have been givenleadership over.

You will find when you makethat the priority in your minis-

try, the older generation or thelong time members in yourchurch will recognize your sin-cere passion to work with theteens and they will graciouslyallow you to do your thing whilethey do theirs! They can coexistwithout little skirmishes overthe old traditions.

PRAY & GET ADVICE!If you find that the “old guard”

just doesn’t like the directionyou are going in with your min-istry, maybe they feel the styleof it doesn’t match the olderstyle of the church, and despiteyou doing everything to keepthe peace, they begin speakingto you about things they don’tlike that you are doing. Well…it’s time to get on your kneesand start talking to the Lordabout it! He can change heartsand help them see your inten-tions and your desire in the min-istry with the youth. Again, go-ing to battle lots of times isn’tworth it… but you can use aspiritual weapon… pray, prayand pray some more!!!

You have an Ace in yourpocket… your Pastor. Talk thewhole situation through withhim. He hired you! He’s got yourback! He wants you to succeed!He can share advice that willbalance your thoughts and helpyou see where you might bewrong! So, pray and get thatadvice that we all need at pointsin time like this!

I’ll leave you with one thoughtthat comes from an older wiserman. “Just use your brain boy!”Ole Larry Tapp told me thatwhen I was a younger pastortrying to make some changes atmy first church. I reckon I wasbeing a little bull headed. Hisadvice worked! Good ole stablethinking… you know horsesense! LOLLee is a church planter inSouthhaven, Mississippi. He is apastor and former youth ministerand may be contacted atanders.lee571@gmail.com

Most youth guys are ages 22… 23 up to 35ish. When you firststart out you want to conquerthe world and make a huge im-pact in the lives of teens! Mostthat I talk to feel that way, youcan see it in their face whenthey talk about it and see it inthe passion of their ministry.They have all kinds of new ideason how to accomplish this andhave the best youth group ever!

It’s not long, however, thatthey find out that it’s hard toaccomplish things they want todo because of many factors. Oneof those factors is tradition. Acommon line of conversationamong youth guys is that veryissue. They can go from talkingabout how awesome youth min-istry is to how hard it is becausethey battle the ‘set in stone’matters of the church. It is afact, churches have traditions.You have to deal with themwhether you like it or not!

I’ve heard of all kinds of tradi-tions. I knew of one church thathad a sunrise service at a lakeevery year on Easter at 6:00a.m. Nothing else. They bouthad a stroke when the youth

pastor invited the teens over tohis house for super his first year.He couldn’t do that… we only dothe one Sunrise service and thatis it! LOL!!!

One churchhad a youth fundraiser for campeach year. Thebake sale was thefirst Sunday inMay. SisterSo&So had tomake her famouschocolate pie. They had biddingwars on it in the fellowship hall.It normally brought around$100!!! Traditionally the oldestdeacon of the church always gotthe pie whether he won it or not.Not knowing, the new youth guytook the bids on it, a new visit-ing couple won the bid, he tookit to them announcing theywould love it. The place becamedead silent as the bidding onother baked goods continued.He had messed up… and the oledeacon… well he left! LOL!!!

Well I have heard of so manytraditions through the years.Some of them are just down rightfunny, but to that church, they

July 13 is designated as Volunteer Work Days. Each is a Saturdayand we will work on various projects from 8 a.m. to noon each day(longer if individuals wish to keep working). There is painting,installing equipment, flooring, gardening, pressure washing… andso much more to do! If you have equipment and tools, bring them.If you, or folks in your church, or ministry organization have awilling heart to serve, allow the Lord to use you on these days. Ifyou cannot make any of these days, almost any day this summeris available for your volunteer help. Give us a call and we will putyou to work!

Southeastern Work Days!- YOUR HELP NEEDED -

6 July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

GIRLS'S MISSIONARY AUXILIARYState GMA Director Jessica Haden795 Highway 532, Mt. Olive, MS 39119

601-797-4597 or 662-251-0455Email jessicahaden3@gmail.com

Your Help Is NeededBMAA Disaster Relief Underway

Flood Waters Rising in Arkansas

Supplies and volunteers ready

by Angela RiceBMA of America Office

BMA Missions is partneringwith ‘Just the Crumbs ‘minis-try in disaster relief efforts. Ledby Bro. Lavon Haden, we arecalling this ministry BMA Di-saster Relief. Just the Crumbshas been serving in disaster re-lief for many years. This is aneffort to coordinate all of ourBMA churches to serve togetherin Disaster Relief.

WE NEED YOU. Right now,BMA Disaster Relief is settingup at Immanuel Baptist Churchin Greenbrier, Arkansas, toserve the communities affectedby the flooding there. We needteams of volunteers to cook,package and deliver meals topeople working along the river.Clean up crews are also neededto help.

VOLUNTEER: If you wouldlike to volunteer to serve withus during the next two months,let us know. We have livingquarters set up for you atImmanuel Baptist Church. Youwill need to bring your cot or airmattress and all meals will beprovided. For more informa-tion, check out our website,bmamissions.org/disasterrelief,or call/email Lavon Haden (601-

522-6055, jtcops@gmail.com) orAngela Rice (501-455-4977,angela@bmamissions.org).

DONATE: To makea donation to BMADisaster Relief/Justthe Crumbs, donateonline atb m a mi ss i ons . or g /disasterrelief or senddonations to P.O. Box878 Conway, AR72033.

We are also in needof the following sup-plies: Napkins, To-gocontainers, 20 oz.cups, Paper towels,Dishwashing liquid, Bleach,Baby diapers, Baby wipes,Ziplock bags (gallon, sandwich,and quart), Paper lunch bags,

Toilet paper, Hygiene products,& cleaning supplies.

You may drop off or ship sup-plies to BMA Disas-ter Relief C/O BMAMissions Office, 611Locust St., Conway,AR 72034 or BMA Di-saster Relief C/OImmanuel BaptistChurch, 61GreenValley Dr.,Greenbrier, AR72058. These suppliescan be ordered onlinefrom Walmart orAmazon and shippedto us.**

BE A FIRST RESPONDER:If you are interested in being a“Disaster Relief First Re-

sponder”, fill out the informa-tion on the website to receivethe latest information from BMADisaster Relief/Just the Crumbson how to get involved.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

WHY not GMA?Girls Missionary Auxiliary, or GMA, has been an established

program for girls for many years. It has discipled and led numer-ous girls to Christ and on to lives of service in local churches as wellas around the world. Discipleship is a lifelong process and thisprogram is an excellent starting point.

GMA is experiencing a revival and would love for girls and ladiesin the BMA to join in. The ministry is still one of the most excitingendeavors for girls in the fourth through twelfth grades in theBMA. The Women’s Missionary Auxiliary, or WMA, has been thetraditional sponsor of the GMA, but many churches today continueGMA programs without a local WMA. GMA is a program thattakes a girl step by step into a relationship with Jesus. It promotesgrowth in a relationship with Christ and develops a genuine lovefor God.

Through the GMA Forward Steps girls learn how to be a positiveChristian witness in their homes and communities and they learnall areas of missions. GMA introduces learning-by-doing experi-ences that involve the girls in a myriad of service opportunities,allowing them to help others by using their talents in special waysin their community and their local church. Not only are theylearning how to show God’s love, but they are learning how to begood citizens. (GMA Counselor’s Guidebook)

WHY not GMA in your church?There are no perfect programs and each one has their own

strengths and weaknesses. GMA is a BMA program that has beenproven to help in the training of our young ladies to be bettermothers, minister’s wives, church leaders, missionaries at homeand abroad, and more.

The GMA curriculum is continuing to be updated and is cur-rently available online at www.nationalgma.org. It has beenrevised in a way that young ladies are taught to study and applythe Bible, not just to memorize - even though GMA does believethat it is important to hide God’s word in your heart. There is noother program available that adequately teaches our girls what webelieve and why.

WHY not GMA for your church?It takes a church that loves its girls to pursue GMA and ladies

that are willing to follow God’s will to become a GMA counselor.GMA groups may be large or small but each one involves girls withsouls and lives that are important to God. Many times the worldmakes Christian girls feel alone, but GMA gives our girls anetwork of Christian girls across many states and around theworld. These girls make relationships with counselors and friendsthat last a lifetime. Our young ladies need direction, mentors andleadership. Let’s do our best to keep the world from leading themdown the wrong path.

Somethings old? Something new? Yes, but most of all GMAinvolves ladies disciplining, teaching and training our girls to beFIT FOR THE KING!

If your church is considering reviving GMA or starting a newGMA don’t hesitate to contact the National GMA. We have officersthat would love to assist you.

Laurie Hicks, National Director of Youth Auxiliaries511 Warnock Springs Rd; Magnolia AR 71753lbohicks@icloud.com

Lane Flynt, National GMA Promoter1059 Hwy 532; Mt Olive MS 39119Lane.flynt98@gmail.comWWW.Nationalgma.orgFacebook: GMA-Turning the World Upside Down

National GMA Officers Want to Serveby Lane Flynt

National GMA promoter

Our project for 2019-2020is the Freemans’ BMA ofthe Philippines (BMAP)Ministry Building Renova-tion Project. We are raisingmoney to help them reno-vate the building so it canbe used as housing andmeeting facilities for mis-sionary training.

The national officers alsowant to do service projectswhen they have planningmeetings. Our first serviceproject will be helping topaint, decorate and reno-vate one or two rooms atthe Mississippi BaptistChildren’s Home. If anyone would be willing to support us in these great works, that would bewonderful!

Please send any financial support to National GMA, c/o Kristin Herring, 207 Hidden ValleyLoop, Maumelle, AR 72113. We would love your support of both projects. We’d like for any moneythat isn’t needed for the service project to go to our national project. If this is also your desire,please include that information with your donation. Thanks so much for time and support!

2019-20 National GMA officers (L-R): Secretary Abigail Fairley; SongLeader Abbie Clark; Alt. Jr. Miss GMA Saidee Walley; Miss GMA Sara McGee;Jr. Miss GMA Lilli Medlin; President Rachel Webb; Historian Karo Buck; FirstVice Pres. Emily Henry; Alt. Miss GMA Hannah Varnado; InstrumentalistEmily Gentry; Second Vice President Lydia Dunlap.

7July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

COMMISSION ON

Senior Adults4226 Highway 15 North

Laurel, Mississippi 39440 Kenneth FlyntDirector

The past year for the SeniorAdults has been tremendous,with interest continuing to gainmomentum. Seniors of all ageshave continued to participate inthe annual conferences. Theoldest senior to attend the con-f e r e n c e swas a 97-y e a r - o l dlady fromBig Creekand theo l d e s tman was a9 4 - y e a r -old fromU n i t yB a p t i s tC h u r c h ,

Guntown.This is allmade pos-s i b l et h r o u g hyour sup-port andwe are ap-preciativeof all youdo to sup-port yours e n i o rmembers.

Almost500 se-niors were touched by your sup-port in both the North and SouthConferences.

The 2020 conferences will be

hosted by Mt. Pleasant BaptistChurch of Fulton and Big CreekBaptist Church of Soso. Ourhost churches are always ex-cited about participating inthese conferences.

The Trustees of the Commis-sion on Senior Adults will bemeeting in the near future. Thisis a tremendous group of Trust-ees who always respond whencalled upon.

If your church is a regularcontributor to this ministry, itis appreciated. We encourageall churches to add the Commis-sion on Seior Adults to your sup-port. You can do this regularlyor with a one-time offering.

Thank you for your help withthis ministry. Continue to be aconstant encourager to theseseniors who have stood by yourchurches in the past.

The South Mississippi con-ference will be held next yearduring the month of March andthe North Senior Adult confer-ence will be held in May. Ablessed time for our Seniors.

94-year-old fromUnity Baptist Church,

97-year-old ladyfrom Big Creek

Coach Hall was born to Ms.Ann Hall and Mr. Larry Noblesin Laurel where he graduatedfrom R. H. Watkins High

Southeastern Collegefrom page 3

Coach Broderick Hall Men's Basketball Coach andCross Country Track Coach

Introducing New Coach School. He then went on to earnan Associate's Degree at JonesCounty Junior College inEllisville, Mississippi. CoachHall attended the University ofSouthern Mississippi where heearned his Bachelor'sdegree. Broderick began his bas-ketball coaching career as anAmateur Athletic Union (AAU)coach prior to being the Assis-tant Coach at Quitman HighSchool and South Jones HighSchool. Most recently, his coach-ing journey led him to LaurelChristian School where hecoached Varsity Girls and Boysbasketball. Coach Hall and hiswife, Belinda, have two daugh-ters and one son: Bailey, Brock,and Blaire. Coach Hall's mottoin life is "Whoever is happy, willmake others happy too."

From The Mind of Chuck Lee

Bro. Chuck Lee

ShortCutsOne of my earliest memories of a shortcut came in the mountains

of Tennessee when I was in my single digit years. Dad and momdecided it would be a great idea to veer off the main highway andtake a different route through the mountains because it was morescenic and also looked like it might cut off a few miles back to thecampsite. This great idea turned out to be not as fantastic or shortas they thought. We did get to see the scenery up close and personalthough, because the nature of small mountain roads has thetendency to circle back on themselves quite frequently.

I learned on this foray that just being a skinny, freckled-faced,red-head would not be the only obstacle I would have to overcomein life. I would also have to overcome motionsickness, thus the frequent stops to get out andsee the mountain foliage after every other mile.In my defense, we three boys had to sit in the backof the station wagon with the seats facing eachother while our sisters got the middle seats. Idon't recall if the wagon had air conditioning ornot, but I am positive that it never made it to therear as the vehicle navigated the u-shaped curves.Sometimes Dad and Mom would pass us going theother way as they were in the front seats hogging the A/C. Theshortcut only took us a little over twice as long as if we had gone thelonger way.

Because of this early traumatic experience suffered at such ayoung age, I had to set a new course of direction in life. Being asuccessful fighter pilot, ship captain, or ferris wheel rider had to beforgotten. Thanks a lot Mom and Dad! I would probably be famous

if not for the shortcut that uncov-ered severe motion sickness inmy system.

Unable to learn from past ex-periences, I still find myself seek-ing out shortcuts as I travel theroad of life. Most of the time, itstill takes twice as long as it wouldhave if I would have just kept tothe main highway. But thenagain, I may have missed out onseeing the scenery.Lee serves as pastor of Pine GroveBaptist Church, Purvis. He may bereached by email atleecharles47@yahoo.com

IV. JESUS, As He Is NowAfter Jesus died for our sins

and was buried, three days laterHe arose on the first day of theweek (Mark 16:9). Forty dayslater He ascended back toHeaven and sat down at theFather’s right hand. He is therenow. Many things have alreadybeen accomplished, and manything are being accomplished,as He awaits the day that Hewill return to earth.

When Jesus came to earth,He humbled Himself as humbleas the sinless Son of God could.He took the role of a servant(Isaiah 42:1), and was made inthe likeness of man. He made athird step down by becomingobedient unto death. He steppeddown again as He died the deathof the cross. Since God exaltsthose who humble themselvesfor the Lord’s sake (Luke 14:11),God exalted Jesus. He first gaveHim a Name of honor. He madethat Name above every name.He then required every knee tobow to that Name. He then re-quired all to confess that thisJesus is Lord. And then Hedeclared that this would be tothe glory of God the Father(Philippians 2:6-11). He couldnot have humbled Himselflower, nor have been exaltedhigher. Jesus is therefore“highly exalted” at the Father’sright hand at this time.

There at the Father’s righthand, Jesus is keeping us saved.It was His death that fixed it sothat we could be forgiven andbrought into a peaceful relation-ship with God. It is His life thatkeeps us that way—“For, if whenwe were enemies, we were rec-onciled to God by the death ofHis Son, much more, being rec-onciled, we shall be saved by hislife” (Romans 5:10). Though westill sin after we are born again,Jesus can still save us all of theway because “he ever liveth tomake intercession for us” (He-brews 7:25b). Therefore, keep-ing us saved is one of the great-est things that Jesus is doingnow.

Jesus is also directing andempowering His church, as Heserves as her head—“Which hewrought in Christ, when heraised him from the dead, andset him at his own right hand inthe heavenly places...And hathput all things under his feet,and gave him to be the headover all things to the church”(Ephesians 1:20,22). Men canprove to be a blessing as theyserve in leadership positions.But we must never forget thatChrist is the head of His church,and a church will do better whenthey consider Him as the headand serve under His direction.

Jesus is now serving as ourmediator, as He sits at theFather’s right hand. The Bible

tells us that no one else servesin this position but Jesus—“Forthere is one God, and one me-diator between God and men,the man Christ Jesus” (I Timo-thy 2:5). The Father goesthrough Jesus in blessing us—“But my God shall supply allyour need according to his richesin glory by Christ Jesus(Philippians 4:19). We gothrough Jesus in reaching theFather—“Therefore being jus-tified by faith, we have peacewith God through our LordJesus Christ: By whom also wehave access by faith into thisgrace wherein we stand, andrejoice in hope of the glory ofGod” (Romans 5:1,2).

Jesus also keeps us company,as He sits at the Father’s righthand. It can get lonesome downhere, especially when many donot care or seem to understand.But in Jesus our Savior we havea friend that sticks closer than abrother. The call to salvation isa call to the fellowship of Jesus—“God is faithful, by whom yewere called unto the fellowshipof his Son Jesus Christ our Lord”(I Corinthians 1:9). Old Testa-ment saints walked with God(Genesis 5:24; 6:9), and we cantoo. It is real; it is comforting: itis exciting; it is encouraging;and it adds power. It is surelyour grandest experience in thislife—“Whom having not seen,ye love; in whom, though now yesee him not, yet believing, ye joywith joy unspeakable and full ofglory (I Peter 1:8). “Whom have

How We See Jesusfrom page 4

continued on page 8

8 July 1, 2019 • Mississippi Baptist

Southeastern Baptist College Special EmphasisMonths are July and August. Each BMA of

Mississippi church will soon receive a“CLEAR THE WALL TARGET” banner and

a ‘Bullseye for Blessings’visual to guide all to share $$$ blessings towardspecific projects for much needed SBC progress.

CLEAR THE WALLIn July & August

Phone 662-316-6233www.facebook.com/bmamsyouth Kelby Johnson

Director

Youth DepartmentBMA of Mississippi

BMA of Mississippi Summer Camp 2019We had another great BMA

of Mississippi Summer Camp atWaukaway Springs ChristianRetreat Center.

Approximately 130 attendeesfrom 12 different churches en-joyed a time of relaxation, fel-lowship, and worship.

Our theme this year was“Jesus is Greater Than” and ourgoal was to remind students thatJesus is greater than anythingor anyone else!

Dr. John David Smithbrought inspiring messagesfrom various texts in God’s Wordto emphasize our theme. He toldthe students that Jesus isgreater than Satan and sin, guilt

and shame, me and religion, andfear and death.

In our music time this year,two students from Temple Bap-tist Church in Laurel helpedlead the group in worshipthrough song. Thanks to BrennaClark and Kate Hyatt. Theywere a great addition to ourcamp worship team.

Following our services, stu-dents spent time with their owngroups to discuss the sermons,ask questions, and have prayer.

We are blessed to have pas-tors, youth pastors, and otheradults who invest in the youngpeople in our churches.

As always, the camp spent

time in the freezing coldWaukaway water. It was a muchneeded plunge considering thehot Summer weather.

Thank you to all the churcheswho were able to attend thisyear. If you have not been ableto come to our camp, please con-sider it for next Summer. It istypically held on the first week-end in June. Thank you to thechurches who give to supportthis ministry.

Remember: Jesus is greaterthan...

From left to right (Bro. Kelby Johnson, BrennaClark, Kate Hyatt).

Preaching service from 2019 Youth Summer Camp

Summer Camp Worship

Right -

Special Camp

music

John David Smith bringing message

I in heaven but thee? And thereis none upon earth that I desirebesides thee” (Psalm 73:25).

V. JESUS, In The FutureAs I understand it, Jesus

could be appearing in the air torapture His saints about anytime now (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). At that time the saved willstand before Christ to give anaccount of our life’s work and berewarded accordingly (ICorinthians 4:5; II Corinthians5:10; Matthew 16:27). As thatjudgment closes out, He will fin-

ish His coming as He returns tothe earth to rule (II Timothy4:1; Luke 19:18,19; Matthew25:21). He will put down therule of the Man of Sin and begina righteous rule ( Revelations19:19-21). He is now sittingwith the Father in His throne;He will then sit in His ownthrone for a righteous rule overthis earth (Revelations 3:21;Isaiah 11:1-9).

After the thousand yearsreign of Christ over this earth isfinished (Revelation 20), Jesuswill then be subject to the Fa-

How We See Jesusfrom page 7

ther as all things are put underHim. God will then be all in all(I Corinthians 15:28). With thatarrangement Jesus will con-tinue to reign forever. (Luke1:33) When the White ThroneJudgment for sinners is over(Revelations 20:11-15), all theredeemed will enter that city ofGod. There we will enjoy oureternal home with “no moredeath, neither sorrow, nor cry-ing, neither shall there be anymore pain” (Revelation 21:4).

I am so glad that I have re-ceived this eternal Son of God asmy Savior and Lord. This meansthat I have everlasting life andam in no danger of eternal tor-ment. Praise the Lord! He istruly my best friend.

Leave It To Cleaver

Wisdom andInstructionFrom His Word2 Peter 1.1 “To those who havereceived a faith equal to oursthrough the righteousness of ourGod and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Through the years of my min-istry, I have often heard Chris-tians say: “I wish I had beenalive in the time of Jesus so myfaith would be more real.” Thispassage from the Apostle has awelcome thought for those withthat kind of wishful thinking.Let’s examine the words “faith

equal to ours” in this passage.Some translate this as “faithprecious as ours.” Others trans-late this as “faith of equal stand-ing as ours.”

Simon Peter says to those headdresses that their faith isequal to and as precious to theLord as his. Wow! You meanJesus looks at my faith like oneof the Apostles! (Let’s also re-member Peter’s faith failuresalong with Jesus’ forgiveness.)Yes, Simon says his faith wasreceived just as any Christianreceives her or his faith today.Simon goes on to say with thatkind of faith comes an over-whelming knowledge of God andJesus Christ our Lord.

So my brother and sister, lookto your faith as God in Christ isactively at work in your life justas He was in Simon Peter’s day.You don’t need to have “lived inthe days of Jesus” to have a solidfaith. It is yours now! Jesusdoes not value one century’sfaith over another.

Dr. Tony Cleaver isa retired U.S. ArmyChaplain and Direc-tor of DistanceLearning for BMASeminary. You maycontact him atjstmcleaver@embarqmail.com