I guess the real question is… “Are we actively seeking those who are lost that we might rejoice with them in their salvation?”

Click here to hear the song.

The lyrics to the song: (I LOVE the chorus, “They all cried Hallelujah.”)

They baptized Jesse Taylor in Cedar Creek last Sunday,
Jesus gained a soul and Satan lost a good right arm;
They all cried Hallelujah when Jesse’s head went under,
This time he went under for the Lord.

Among the local taverns there’ll be a slack in business,
‘Cause Jesse’s drinkin’ came before the groceries and the rent;
Among the local women there’ll be a slack in cheatin’,
‘Cause Jesse won’t be steppin’ out again.

The scars on Jesse’s knuckles they were more than just respected,
The county courthouse records tell all there is to tell;
The pockets of the gamblers will soon miss Jesse’s money,
And the black eye of the law will soon be well.

They baptized Jesse Taylor in Cedar Creek last Sunday,
Jesus gained a soul and Satan lost a good right arm;
They all cried Hallelujah when Jesse’s head went under,
This time he went under for the Lord.

From now on Nancy Taylor can proudly speak to neighbors,
And tell ‘em how much Jesse took up with little Jim;
Now, Jimmy’s got a daddy and Jesse’s got a family,
And Franklin county’s got a lot more man.

They baptized Jesse Taylor in Cedar Creek last Sunday,
Jesus gained a soul and Satan lost a good right arm;
They all cried Hallelujah when Jesse’s head went under,
This time he went under for the Lord.

They baptized Jesse Taylor in Cedar Creek last Sunday,
Jesus gained a soul and Satan lost a good right arm;
They all cried Hallelujah when Jesse’s head went under,
This time he went under for the Lord.

While I am greatly disappointed with the outcome of today’s presidential election my hope in the sovereign creator and sustainer remains steadfast.

Romans 13 reminds us of a couple of things that are worth mentioning:

1. “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (v. 1) - God is truly the ultimate authority. Apart from His sovereign will nothing can or ever will take place. While we may question Him and fail to understand we must never think He has surrendered his authority.
2. “[Authority] is a minister of God, …” (v. 4) - A quick survey of the Old Testament reveals that God has never failed to use any and every person, government, or situation to accomplish His purposes. Men such as Job, Joseph, and Jeremiah knew that truth full well. Whether we personally agree or disagree with the one in whom the power is vested we must not lose sight of the fact that God will still be able to accomplish what He wants to accomplish.

My prayers go out tonight to the Obama & Biden families for the task that lays ahead of them. Regardless of the political party or the point in history there is a burden placed upon the shoulders of the President of The United States that we can never even imagine. And so I will respect the Office of President, and I will respect the man who fills that office. I expect that I also, however, will respectfully disagree with him a good portion of the time.

It saddens me that exit polls today showed the greatest concern for votes was the economy and that those taking the polls didn’t even make mention of moralty. As a country we’ve made our pocketbooks number one and left the Good Book out altogether. As an individual, however, I will continue to fight for and preach the position of scripture on issues concerning human life and marriage.

Tomorrow morning when the sun rises, the Son will still be at the right hand of the Father in Heaven with whom “there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

As a limited release it took in only slightly less per location that the number one movie which had a reported budget of $80,000,000. That’s 160 times the $500,000 budget for Fireproof.

Add to those numbers the facts that this movie was produced by a church using an all volunteer cast. I can’t wait to see what these numbers look like in the coming weeks!

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you’re missing out! I’ve seen it twice and wouldn’t mind seeing it a third time! In fact I’d be willing to pay full price at the theater to go see it again.

A website has been set up to provide resources to couples wanting to strengthen their own marriages. You will find more at: FireproofMyMarriage.com.

The characters provide an opportunity for anyone to feel a sense of connection with this movie. Whether you are unmarried, divorced, happily married, or unhappily married there are opportunities for you to connect with the characters involved here. Unlike some "churchy" movies that make you feel out of place if you don’t know the lingo, Fireproof allows anybody to understand and relate to the story.

The script writers did great job of dealing with real-life issues in a tactful yet effective manner. Many of the issues you would expect when dealing with a failing marriage are dealt with in this movie. Despite dealing with such serious and sensitive issues the dialogue stays away from being offensive or crude.

Lastly, God is not left out of this movie and neither is the Gospel. It is clear from watching the movie that before we can have a happy, healthy, marriage we must learn to depend on the author of marriage. While not being overbearing or preachy the movie presents the Gospel as the main character is confronted with his inability to love because he has never met the one who loves the most.

Having seen it once I can’t wait to take my wife this weekend and see it again. I strongly encourage everyone to see this movie. I don’t know of anyone who has seen it and not left feeling challenged by it.

Minister preaches on his 100th birthday

The good thing, though, is that we can usually track the progress. If it’s traffic on a route we’re used to we usually know how much longer we’ll have to wait. If it’s the line at the grocery store we can watch and count the people in front of us and how many things they’re purchasing. As far as what we’re waiting for to arrive, if it’s of any value we can receive a tracking number and watch its progress that way.

Waiting on the Lord, while worth the wait, can be the most challenging of all cases where patience is required. Normally we can’t see what God is doing, where He is doing it, and how it relates to the rest of our present life. What really complicates the picture is the importance of whatever it is we’re waiting for. When I’m waiting upon the Lord it’s probably for something a little more important than groceries, a new gadget, or my turn to go through the stoplight. Put these two elements together and the words of the prophet Isaiah become a huge challenge to us.

     Yet those who wait for the LORD
         Will gain new strength;
         They will mount up with wings like eagles,
         They will run and not get tired,
         They will walk and not become weary.

- Isaiah 40:31

We find these words following a rather lengthy discourse concerning the authority, power, and majesty of God. Isaiah reminds us that it was God and God alone who sits in authority over all the earth, and was He and He alone who spoke the world into existence. And if we’re willing to wait, we will reap the full array of blessings that come to those who wait: 1) "gain new strength," that is healing from the past; 2) "mount up with wings like eagles," that is the presence of God’s abundance in the immediate future; and 3) "run and not get tired, … walk and not become weary," that is the abiding nature of God’s presence in the long-term. What a tremendous and glorious promise… if only we can wait.

The Apostle Peter knew a thing or two about waiting on the Lord. It was he who wrote to the persecuted believers of his day and encouraged them to wait faithfully for God. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness" he told them. Waiting on God does not he that he is unaware, indifferent or lazy, in fact Peter understood it to mean something far different. He continued by saying that God is "… patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." Peter saw God’s decision, for that’s truly what it is, not to act immediately as an indication that something was being gained in the in between time. In this case, as Peter understood, God was using this time in the life of the persecuted church to secure the salvation of lost souls.

I can’t help but wonder how the events surrounding Pentecost in the second chapter of Acts affected Peter’s attitude here. You’ll remember Peter as the loud-mouth, "get-er done" type that always had to be the first, most vocal, and let his opinion be known. Somehow, I don’t see Peter as a naturally patient person. Perhaps that all changed when Jesus ascended into heaven and left Peter and the others with instructions to wait. In the span of just a few verses they were told both to wait on God to empower them for ministry and then were subsequently given a mission challenge that was seemingly impossible and is still being fulfilled today (Acts 1:4-8). How was it they were to accomplish the impossible and begin while waiting?

W.A. Criswell rightly recognized, as he put it, "the disciple prayed for 10 days, Peter preached for 10 minutes, and three thousand people were saved." Ah, there it is, the blessing that comes to those who wait upon the Lord. Their attutude and manner of waiting deserves more attention than there is room for here, but suffice it to say they waited until God was ready. Maybe that’s when Peter learned, first-hand, that waiting on the Lord is more than worth it. When God decides the time is right, and chooses to act, He will do so in a way that accomplishes His purposes. If our attitude is right He just may let us be a part of it as well.

Waiting upon the Lord is a challenge, yes, but one more than worth the investment. So in this day of McDonalds drive-thrus high-speed internet access, and microwave ovens are you willing to wait upon the Lord? Lesser things may come faster but are you willing to wait upon the Lord for that which is greater?

For those that are not aware, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family lost their youngest daughter a few months ago in a tragic accident involving another of their children. I can not imagine the pain of grieving over the loss of a child while needing the strength to console another child through the darkest of nights.

Their interview with Good Morning America says it all …

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HT: Micah Fries