‘For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. — Jeremiah 29:11

The transition from Wednesday night to Thursday morning is a tiring one for me. I do a two-hour show on WQRL on Wednesday night that gets over at 10 p.m. By the time I get home, get unwound and get to bed it’s midnight – about three hours later than my usual bedtime. The problem is my body clock is still geared to wake up between 4:30 and 5 a.m. So, this morning — operating on about 4 to 5 hours sleep — I wearily stumbled to my computer in a hurry to begin what is going to be a long day.

Suddenly, right in front of me was my desktop but the cursor refused to move so I waited for the computer to ‘boot up’ or ‘wake up.’ While I was forced to wait I looked at the picture on my desktop, a picture I look at every day but I guess failed to see. As I waited on the computer I stared at the desktop and I noticed for the first time a beautiful sunrise, soft clouds drifting in the sky and beautiful mountains in the background. In large font letters at the bottom is Jeremiah 29:11 — the verse I posted this morning. Not feeling quite so tired, I read it and I read it again. What a promise! What a blessing! What a powerful message from God in only one sentence. That picture has been on my desktop for several weeks but I never really looked at the beauty and studied the words until this morning, when I was forced to slow down.

There’s a lot of messages tied in here this morning: slow down and take a deep breath, don’t just look at, but really see the beauty right in front of your eyes and most importantly know that God is in control of every situation in our lives. As a final thought this morning, read Jeremiah 29:11 through one more time very slowly and then give thanks to God for this promise and his countless blessings.

God’s blessings to you on this day! Slow down … and have a great Thursday and a blessed day!

‘Be stronger than your excuses!’

Every decision in life, regardless how small or big, comes down to either finding a way to get it done or making an excuse why you can’t do it or to put it off. Think about it, the people in your life, your relationship with God, exercise, diet, a new job and the list goes on and on. You either find a way to get it done or you find an excuse, period.

Today’s quote is only five words, one short sentence, but it packs a punch and sums up how we all approach life.

God’s blessings to you on this day and my prayers is that we are all stronger than our excuses. Have a wonderful Wednesday and a blessed day!

‘Failure is not the opposite of success. It is a PART of success.’

If you spend any time reading and studying people who are successful you’ll find that the common denominator on their road to success is failure. Every person that trudges through life experiences failure, but it’s what you do with those failures (yes, that’s ‘failures’ which means more than one) that makes the difference. Failure is a temporary condition – giving up is what makes it permanent. Don’t be afraid to fail … be afraid not to try!

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a great Tuesday and a blessed day!

 

By Pastor Larry Cook

I consider myself a dinosaur. I begin preaching before most of the current pastors in our community were born; in fact my 30 years as pastor of Bear Point is more years than most have been alive. So, I guess I can speak of a time when I remember the word loyalty was used for more than a sports team. I have nothing against being loyal for our home town team but I remember when the local neighborhood  store, gas station and other stores in the community could count on the loyalty of the people who lived in that town. Of course that was before Wal-mart and malls. Boy I am old aren’t I; no Wal-mart or malls. But I am concerned about this missing loyalty today. And I see this in four areas.  So stay with me for a while.

In Matthew 26:40 Jesus was facing His crowning event His dying for your sins and mine. He had asked the disciples to stay and pray for Him as He went a little farther into the garden. But after agonizing in prayer He returned to find them asleep. I am afraid we are asleep today when it comes to our loyalty to God, His Word, Church and family. Where has the loyalty gone?

I know that there has always been those who hop from church to church but I believe it is the worst that I have seen in the 44 years I have been preaching. There is no loyalty. Something goes wrong and we’re gone. I have been a Cardinal fan for 66 years and yes even when they didn’t win. And look at those Cub fans, I couldn’t leave that alone. But really why is there no loyalty to church today?

And then there is the topic of God and His Word. What happened to by faith accepting what God and His Word teaches. All I hear today is prove it. But let me ask you a question. Can anyone really prove evolution? No, I mean really prove it. Can you put it in a test tube and show how evolution occurs. What about the wind? Can you show me the wind? I know there is wind for I see the effects of it. And I know that there is a God and that His Word is real for I have seen time and again what God and His Word can do in the lives of people.

But most of all, I want to address the loyalty to the family. We live in a time when family has been declared obsolete. By that I mean we have been told it takes a community to raise a child, or that the federal government knows better how to raise our children and we could go on and on. Whatever happened to the concept that parents could raise their children. There was a time when moms and dads would spend time with their children in church, in their activities, and in their home lives. Where it was not up to the teacher, the church and the babysitter to raise our kids; and I realize that people have to work but what about the work that is needed at home. It is time we showed to our church, our families and most of all to God and His Word that they have a priority in our lives above all other things. Let’s wake up and see that when we lose, family, church and God we are lost.

(The Rev. Larry Cook is pastor of Bear Point Baptist Church, located on Route 154 west of Sesser.)

Bible Verses: Genesis 2: 20-24, Revelation 19:7, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:9

From the beginning when God created man and woman, he instituted the relationship of marriage.  Each person is made in His image. The dictionary definition of marriage is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law.”

God designed marriage to be the foundation of the family which is a key component to any society.  He stated that a man shall leave his family and be united with his wife in an intimate relationship.  Men and women are to be “one” in spirit and their relationship is to be a bond, not only in physical terms.

Revelation describes the relationship between Jesus Christ (the Lamb) and the church or His followers as that of a bride and bridegroom.  Jesus laid down His life for the whole world so that they could become His church, anyone who chooses to follow Him in a relationship.  The relationship between Jesus and the church is so close and intimate that He said we can be one with Him as He is one with the Father.  As a matter of fact, we should strive to be so close to Jesus in our relationship, that we are able to know His will and what he thinks and wants, similar to the relationship between a husband and wife.  People who are married begin to know each other so well, they begin to anticipate the needs and desires of the other person.  God’s design for the relationship between the bridegroom (Jesus) and the bride (church) is the model for marriage between men and women.  The relationship between man and woman in marriage is just a glimpse here on Earth of what it will be like in eternity with Him.  That is why there is no marriage in heaven, because we will be so close to Jesus, it will not be necessary.

So, if you are Satan (enemy of God) how do you go about destroying the church and society?  The answer is attack marriages and families.  Studies show the importance of two parent families, parents (particularly fathers) have a dramatic influence on children and how their absence lends itself to the destruction of the family which has a direct effect on the destruction of a society.  Marriage is watered down in our world to the point that some do not recognize its significance and importance to our existence as humans.

That is why God hates divorce and emphasizes the importance of men to be devoted husbands and fathers, as well as, women to be strong wives and mothers.  Marriage is an important foundation to families and is not old fashioned or out of date.  It is essential for society to survive and is part of God’s great design for our lives.  Marriages require commitment, hard work, and a servant attitude as displayed by Jesus Himself.  Marriage is not to be entered into lightly which is why it requires time to choose carefully who you want to spend your life with and stay committed to in the relationship.  The world says you can do without it (live together) or you can create some variation resembling it and be OK.  But, these are just attempts to divert people from the truth.  It is not uncommon to pray for your future mate (even if you don’t know who they will be) or pray for guidance in choosing a spouse who is also a follower of Jesus.

It has been said we need to plan our marriage before we plan our wedding.  It means taking  the time before marriage to know each other and about our past, our expectations, and dreams.  What you will do and who will do what.  Plan and make it work.  It is not always easy, but children, as well as, society as a whole benefits from strong families and strong marriages.  It is about working together, each contributing to the relationship serving the Lord in the process to keep our hearts and minds on Him.

PRAYER:    Heavenly Father we thank you for marriage and ask that you help us follow your design for marriage and families.  We pray for guidance and wisdom in choosing a future mate.  We pray for families and marriages, that they would seek You and your will.  Thank you for the template for marriage, that of Jesus and the church (followers of Christ).  Help us to read Your word and follow the instructions on how to be a husband/father and wife/mother of God.  Amen.

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