Wednesday, August 27, 2014

DELIGHTING IN THE LORD

Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
PSALM 37:4


When you delight yourself in another person, you spend as much time as possible with that person, and you get to know that person as well as possible. When you are delighted in your relationship with another person, you are fulfilled, complete, satisfied, content, and joyful in your relationship. If you experience such a relationship, many material and physical things usually become very unimportant.…
And so it is when we come to delight in our relationship with the Lord. Nothing else really matters when we experience an intimate time with the Lord. Everything else pales in comparison to Him.


Charles F. Stanley, God’s Way Day by Day (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), 95.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” said:

    I asked the Lord that I might grow
    In faith, and love, and every grace,
    Might more of his salvation know
    And seek more earnestly his face.
    ’Twas he who taught me thus to pray,
    And he, I trust, has answered prayer;
    But it has been in such a way
    As almost drove me to despair.
    I hoped that in some favored hour
    At once he’d answer my request,
    And by his love’s constraining power
    Subdue my sins, and give me rest.
    Instead of this, he made me feel
    The hidden evil of my heart,
    And let the angry powers of hell
    Assault my soul in every part.
    Yea, more, with his own hand he seemed
    Intent to aggravate my woe,
    Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
    Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.
    “Lord, why this?” I trembling cried,
    “Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?”
    “Tis in this way,” the Lord replied.
    “I answer prayer for grace and faith.
    These inward trials I employ
    From self and pride to get thee free,
    And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
    That thou mayest seek thy all in me.”

Max E. Anders and Max E. Anders, 30 Days to Understanding the Christian Life in 15 Minutes a Day (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1998), 179–180.v

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Fret not thyself because of evildoers,

Psalm 37:1–11 — 1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

It is easy to say “do not be agitated,” but it takes a strong faith to reach this level of confidence in the Lord. The cause for anxiety in this case is envy of wrongdoers who prosper in the world. A deep trust in the Lord enables people to delight in Him, and He will give them the desires of their hearts. Those desires, however, will be in harmony with God’s will.

Ted Cabal, Chad Owen Brand, E. Ray Clendenen, et al., The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 822.

 

Hay, soon to be made; and the higher the grass grows the nearer it is to the scythe and fork. … Why then should you be angry, when their wickedness and success have such a short existence?” (Luther).

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Carl Bernhard Moll, et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 257.

God’s blessing upon the pious shows itself in this, that they are not only satisfied and delighted with a little, because they have their delight in God, and content themselves in Him as the highest good, but that they as individuals can accomplish much more with a little, than many ungodly persons with much, that, they constantly experience fresh tokens of Divine care and provision, so that they suffer no lack, but rather are able to minister to others with their goods and gifts, and that they transmit their inheritance to their posterity, which in their turn become blessings. Thus a chain of blessings passes through the life and the generations of the pious with all the need, poverty, trouble and dangers of earth. The ungodly, on the other hand, are not helped by their number or their power, their craft or their strength, their riches or their arrogance. The curse comes upon them for their wickedness, and the judgment of God destroys them and theirs.

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Carl Bernhard Moll, et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 257.

It is better to have God for our friend in life, and our support in death, than to have all the external prosperity of wicked men.—SPURGEON

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Carl Bernhard Moll, et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 259.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Special Meetings with Evangelist John Van Gelderen


John R Van

Oregon Trail Baptist Church of Guernsey, Wy announces special revival services, ­August 29th - 31st with Evangelist John R. Van Gelderen of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Pastor Jason Miller invites everyone to attend these services which will begin at 7:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and 9:30 am & 10:30 am on Sunday.  Bible-centered preaching and soul-stirring music will be part of this exciting series of meetings.  The church is located at 310 S. Dakota Ave (The corner of S. Dakota and Pittsburgh) in Guernsey, Wy.


Evangelist John R. Van Gelderen received bachelors (1984), masters (1987), and doctoral (2008) degrees from Bob Jones University of Greenville, South Carolina.  After a two-year pastoral internship at Hampton Park Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina, he began a five-year ministry as an assistant to his father, Dr. Wayne Van Gelderen, Sr., at Marquette Manor Baptist Church of Downers Grove, Illinois.  While there he led in the outreach ministries.
Evangelist Van Gelderen began in full-time evangelism in January of 1992. As an extension of his ministry as an evangelist, he is the co-founder and president of Revival Focus Ministries, Inc. He is also the author of various books, tracts, soul winning training materials, and songs. His wife, Mary Lynn, is an accomplished musician in both piano and vocal music, and is actively involved in the meetings.




Evangelist Van Gelderen believes that America is in need of a true revival and that God uses the Spirit-filled preaching of His Word to cause Christians to look to God for answers.  He presents timely messages on vital subjects such as the Spirit-filled life, revival, holiness, soul winning, and  salvation.  
For more information regarding these special services, please contact Oregon Trail Baptist Church at 307-575-5797 or 307-298-0728. You can also find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oregon-Trail-Baptist-Church/473346216048355?ref=bookmarks.

For more information about Evangelist John Van Gelderen visit…





Evangelist John Van Gelderen will also be preaching for the Labor Day Picnic at Camp Grace.


Time: 7:30pm August 31 - 12:30pm September 1

Cost is $18 per person overnight, including breakfast. If you come after breakfast Monday morning,
the picnic is free. For lunch, bring your own entree to grill and whatever else you want to share in
the potluck. This is a fundraising event to give our friends the opportunity to see all that God has
done in the past year, so we can continue building Camp Grace for His glory in the future. You will
have an opportunity to give financially Sunday evening or Monday morning.


Sunday Schedule

7:30pm - Chapel Service
9:00pm - Fellowship
Monday Schedule
8:30am - Breakfast
9:15am - Free Time
11:00am - Testimony Time & Chapel Service
12:30pm - Potluck Lunch

Register with the office A.S.A.P. if you want to reserve a cabin for Sunday night. Cabins and trailer
hookups are very limited. You are also welcome to bring a tent. Popcorn will be free after the Sunday
evening service, but other drinks and snacks will be available for purchase in the Sutler’s Store.

Registration - christina@campgrace.org (760) 447-2552

Information - marlin@campgrace.org (307) 331-0218

Monday, August 18, 2014

Trip to Iowa for Ordination

I’m a bit slow at getting these pictures posted but here they are. We left for Iowa on August 10th to spend a week with family and then on August 17th I was ordained at my home church Adelphi Calvary Baptist Church. It was very challenging preparing and getting things ready for the ordination but now that it is over I can honestly say that it was very enjoyable. All of the men that were on the counsel had been influential in my training and I was glad to undergo my ordination under their direction.

 

2014-09-03 Ordination trip 001