Our Identity in Christ

Thankfully our Lord has saved us from our past and has given us new identity in Him.  As we have been going through Romans 6-7 as a church, we have discovered this new identity.  

Our identity is more important to us than many recognize.  Jesus did not just forgive us our past, but instead He gave us a new identity with new relationships.

Let me illustrate.  Suppose a prostitute had been caught by the ruling authority and punished for the err.  But before the prostitute can begin serving a sentence, the authority rules her forgiven and gives her papers to assure she is no longer to be considered a prostitute.  But would that really change her?  Would she still be looking for love in all the wrong places?

But what if that ruling authority fell in love with that lady and chose her to be his wife?  How would that affect you?  Would you fell forgiven?  Would you have found that which you were looking for?  How would you view your future in such a relationship?

We have not just been forgiven of our past, we have been accepted by the judge and been chosen as His wife.  That makes all the difference.

A Blessed Day in Atlanta

I am in Atlanta with my friend, Barry Clingan, where we have spoken today at a surprise 25th ministry anniversary for our mutual friend, Bobby Atkins.  What a great day it has been done. Barry and I arrived here yesterday afternoon and spent most of the night talking about what we were going to say today and recounting stories.  Then the anticipation of surprising our friend was great.  When we arrived at the church this morning, he had his mike on and was passing out his sermon outline for the day.  He had no idea that he had the day off.

The service was great - honoring to our Heavenly Father but also to Bobby.  The servcie lasted two-hours-and-forty-five minutes.  No, we didn't take that long but it was just a great outpouring of love for Jesus and Bobby.  What a day!!

Pictures of "Finishing Crew"

This is the exterior of the building. It is almost complete except for landscaping and parking.













This is the "Finishing Crew" that God sent us. 95% of these are from the same church - First Baptist Church, Waynesville, Ohio. What a blessing we have received this summer from three crews of "Builders for Christ." We thank God and each one who has given of themselves to their Lord and us.

Thursday, July 17

I just have returned from St. Petersburg, FL to be with Aaron and Denise. You can read the complete story and updates at his blog. We know that pain is a part of life and healing; but we are praying for God to grant Aaron mercy in these days.

We are excited at CrossRoads for "The Finishing Crew" of Builders for Christ begin coming in tomorrow. The entire church will not be ready but portions are. Those parts will begin to be painted and floor covering laid. Other parts of the crew will be hanging sheetrock and finishing. We are expecting about 45 this week.

We could not be where we are today with the help of these dear brothers and sisters from all over the eastern U.S. We are indebted to them.

Pray for Aaron Johnson

Someone has said that if you have one-or-two lifelong friends, you are indeed blessed.  Well, I am blessed for the friendship of Aaron Johnson.  Aaron and I were raised in Boaz, graduated high school together and have even grown closer through the years since we are both pastors. Aaron currently serves as Pastor of Summit Baptist Church, Acworth, GA.

Aaron is the one God used to get me to Northwest Alabama where I have served now for almost four years.  Aaron is responsible for me being involved with the North Alabama Center of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, even since the mid-90's when it started in Boaz.

The best news (haha) is I get to kid him every year because he is a month-and-a-day older than me, so he is "the old man."

Well, Aaron is a colon cancer survivor and received his five-year clear report this past winter. But in April, his doctor told him that his remaining colon had to be removed.  After much inquiry and prayer, he has chosen a procedure done only in about four places in the U.S. and one of those is in St. Petersburg, FL.

I am flying down tomorrow to be with him, Denise, Denea and Jordan for the surgery on Wednesday.  Please, pray for Aaron and his family plus the doctors and all involved in the surgical procedure.

If you would like to keep up with his progress (he will be in the hospital there for at least 21 days), then a blog has been created where you can get the latest update.  The blog is located in my Blog listing.  The address is http://pastoraaronjohnson.blogspot.com.  

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Reagan comes home tomorrow

For all the readers of this blog for at least three months knows the name of Reagan McBride.  She is the daughter of Allen and JeriAnn McBride and sister of Brennan.  Allen serves as a deacon in our fellowship.

Reagan has been in the hospital in Salt Lake City and Birmingham since late April.  She is coming home tomorrow.  We greatly rejoice and give God praise for His healing touch that is evident in her life and for the strength and grace God has given her parents and family.

Welcome home Reagan.

Happy Birthday to my wife

This past Sunday I reminded our church of that which we have adopted as our marching orders called "The 22 Principle." Based out of Matthew 22, we believe the Christian life is mainly two commands ("Love God" and "Love others") carried out in two venues (individually and in the body of Christ). It could be said, the Christian life is all about relationships.

Today is my wife's birthday and we are away celebrating this weekend. As I was eating last night with my wife, I was refreshed again with this thought - the most important thing about life is relationships. It doesn't matter what type of house you live in, what cars you drive, or even your health or wealth. It is all about relationships.

So, happy birthday to my precious wife, Roxanne. I am delighted God has graced you with another birthday and I am grateful God has graced me with you.

Update on our building

I forget to update the blog and then I'm reminded friends away from CrossRoads keeps up with our progress through this blog.

The work is going well. I will post a picture soon because the front of the building is just about finished. The dryvit is about finished and the glass will go in later. The plumbing is 95% finished; the electrical is about the same; and the HVAC is ready for sheet rock. When I give those figures, I mean that we are that close to being able to sheetrock totally. Of course it doesn't mean there is no more electrical, plumbing, etc to do.

There is sheetrock going in upstairs and finishing of that has started. It will be at least the end of the week before sheet rock can begin downstairs.

On Saturday of this week, the overhead will be painted. The entire ceiling of the auditorium, youth room and AWANA room will be open to the roof and painted black.