Home From Jamaica

I returned from Jamaica this afternoon after spending two days doing pre-trip planning for a mission trip I am leading March 29th through April 5th. It is always good to visit with Christian brothers and sisters in other places. I have been working with a church there called Gardner's View Baptist Church for about five years now and have been blessed as I have watched the church grow and flourish in its environment.

This year we are planning on visiting two orphanages and two schools to share the Gospel through testimony and song. We will also lead a couple of Back Yard Bible Clubs, and help out in a street crusade. It should be a wonderful trip and result in many changed lives including the lives of those who will be going on this trip.

One of the things we try to do is help provide items the church can use in its ministry. Maybe you could help in this area. They are especially in need of craft items that can be used for working with the children. Some ideas are as follows:

• Pencils
• Crayons
• Markers
• Yarns
• Glue
• Felt
• Construction Paper
• Small Pom Poms
• Beads
• Colored sand
• Glitter
• Etc.

We will be carrying these things to Jamaica in our suitcases so we will not incur any extra costs. If you can help with any of this, please let me know.

If you would like to see some of the pictures from our trip this week end, click on the link below.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CcNnLJwxcsWA

February 24, 2007

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future - Jer 29:11-12

God is so good!! This is a phrase we are often quick to use, but the longer I walk with Him, the more I understand its meaning. God has been working so faithfully in my life and the lives of my family. Over the last month or so, we have struggled together, cried together, and laughed together, a lot.

As many of you know, our lives are in transition, which is an understatement. I recently resigned as pastor of New Life Church, the church my wife and I started over five years ago. I received final word from the Army yesterday that I am going to be accepted as a chaplain and I will report for duty on June 3rd at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. Suddenly, life is in fast forward mode.

I am currently in Atlanta preparing to fly to Jamaica tomorrow morning in order to make preparations for a trip I am leading March 29th through April 5th. I will return on Tuesday to Atlanta and then travel to DeLand, Florida to spend about four weeks with my father who is struggling with cancer. On March 24th, I will return to Tennessee to celebrate New Life Church’s fifth anniversary before returning to Jamaica on the 29th.

Please keep in prayer my wife and children as I will be spending a lot of time away from them over the next six months. As you may already know, she is the greatest and most beautiful woman in the world, but this time of separation will be hard on her and the kids.

Thank you for your prayers also for my father. His name is Frank. His cancer is in his left lung, kidney, liver, prostate, and in his arm. He is starting his fourth week of Chemo and Radiation. Pray that he will be strengthened and encouraged throughout this process. His outlook is great as he trusts the Lord in life and in death. One real positive note is that he has been able to have a real ministry to other cancer patients he is meeting in doctors offices. Pray that he will be able to bring hope to many of these who don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior.

One last note and prayer request. Many of you know J.R. Wade that has lived with my family for the last year and a half. He became a Christian about two years ago and has blossomed in our church becoming the lead guitarist for our praise band. He decided to join the Army the other day as well and will be leaving on March 8th. Pray for his Christian witness in the midst of the storms he will face.

Pray also for our church as we face crucial days ahead as we search for a new pastor and new musicians who will help in the ministry. God is so Good, even when we can’t see around the corner to know what is next in this life.

Is God Sovereign?

I have been preaching though the book of Acts at New Life Church where I currently pastor. As I have come into chapter 4, I have once again run face to face into the sovereignty of God. Basically, sovereignty is the belief that God is in control. Sovereignty is one of those theological ideas that each and every follower of Christ embraces academically, but sometimes struggles with when faced with practical opportunities to demonstrate their belief in it.

Peter and John in Acts chapter 4 are faced with a very real opportunity to demonstrate their faith in God’s sovereignty. They had just experienced God’s healing power as He worked through them to bring healing to a man who had been lame from birth. All the people were amazed at what had happened. Peter began to preach to the crowds about the power of the name of Christ and 5000 believed and were saved. But then, the religious leaders had Peter and John arrested and commanded them to never speak of the name of Christ again, or else.

What would you do? You and I will probably never be faced with a situation similar to this. But we do find ourselves faced with many opportunities to question God’s sovereignty. Is God really in control when hundreds of thousands die in a tsunami in the Indian Ocean? Is God really in control when thousands die in a hurricane or in a terrorist attack? Is God really in control when bad things strike even closer to home in the form of sickness, loss of job, death in the family, or when someone personally hurts you?

I recently found out that life was throwing some curve balls my way and I have had to really ask myself, “How much do I believe in God’s Sovereignty?” As I have prepared for my departure to serve as an Army Chaplain, I have begun to take steps to depart from the church I love so much. But I keep asking God who will take over. Do I really believe that this church belongs to Him? I was planning on leaving after Easter, but recently I found out that my father has cancer in his lungs, kidneys, liver, and his prostate. So now I will be leaving New Life Church after this Sunday to spend as much time with him as possible before I enter the Army in June.

I believe in the Sovereignty of God! But I am sure that I am about to discover what trust really means and what the sovereignty of God is really all about. Peter and John would suffer much in their lives as they followed hard after Christ. But notice how they responded when faced with adversity:

4:23-28 They recognized the Sovereignty of God in the face of Adversity
4:29 They prayed for Boldness in the face of Adversity
4:30 They prayed for God’s Power to be seen in the face of Adversity
4:31 They experienced the results of their faithfulness in the face of Adversity

As you face difficult times in your lives, find hope in the fact that God is in control. There is nothing that He is unaware of and that He cannot use for His glory and for your good.

Pastor Mark