I’ve recently been studying Jesus’ prayer life for our Wed. night prayer service. Luke 5:16 really captured my attention. Luke records, “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.” When I read this verse, a Wilderness Leadership Training trip I took a number of years ago came to mind. For five days eight of us went into the Alaskan wilderness to learn how to become better leaders. It was quite a trip. We carried just enough food to get us through the five days. We hiked and canoed for 75 miles during that five days. It was a challenge physically, mentally, and spiritually. The most difficult day for me was the solo day. We were required, after a very hard day before, to spend 8 hours by ourselves with God. We were not allowed to have any contact with anyone. It was just me, the bugs, and God. It drove me nuts! I wanted to be extra spiritual and have this great time with the Lord, but I found it difficult to focus. I became bored and restless. What did I learn during my solitude in the wilderness? I needed to cultivate my ability to spend long periods of time with God by myself without other outside stimulation. Why, because my Savior thought it was important to have these extended periods of time with His Father, our Father. Many times in the Gospels we find Jesus spend long periods of time with His Father all by Himself in places we could classify as “the wilderness.” Luke 5:16 is just one of them. Guess what, I still haven’t learned how to do this well. In fact I have not spent any time in the wilderness with God since my Alaskan trip. I am planning on changing that in 2010.

How about you? How is your wilderness praying? Do you think you would struggle like I did? Why? By the way, if you are thinking you don’t have time to pray in the wilderness hold that thought until next week’s blog.

P. Mark

I was watching “Nightly News with Brian Williams the other night. He has been running a series of stories titled “Making A Difference” for a number of weeks now. These stories are great! They tell of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things for others in their community. There are children who raise money to provide blankets for the homeless. There is a mother who kept buying mittens only to give them away to those who had none. There are restaurant owners who give away hundreds of meals for those who have lost their jobs. There are….etc. etc. etc. If you go to the Nightly News website you can spend hours watching people help other people in need. As I thought about this I realized that even though these acts of kindness are wonderful and help many people, most every act on that website is temporary. They bring relief and comfort for a little while and then life moves on. I realized that the only way for me to truly “Make A Difference” in people’s lives is to introduce them to Jesus Christ. He is the only permanent answer to life’s difficulties.

Let me ask you a question, what are we going to do in 2010 to make an eternal difference in the lives of people who are facing difficult times in Swansea and the surrounding communities? I believe that we need to help with earthly needs that come our way, but I also believe that we need to be more concerned about the spiritual needs of every person we come in contact with. What can Sardis do to really “Make A Difference” in our community? Will you help me find ways to “Make A Difference” in Swansea? If we work, pray, and dream together, I believe that there will be people at the end of 2010 who will be able to say, “Thank you for helping me find Jesus Christ as my Savior. My life is eternally different than it was before.” I want to “Make A Difference,” how about you?

Lexi was nervous as she lined up on the starting line for her second State Cross-Country meet. She was so scared that she was shaking. I pulled her of the line and told her that she had a job to do. She had a race to run that required all her focus and attention. Her fear about the outcome would hinder the outcome. Just do the job you trained all season to do and let the future take care of itself. She understood and began to focus on the task at hand. Anyone looking at her could tell she had shifted her focus. Just a few minutes later she was going up the last hill of the race. It was the second time up this large hill and she looked at me with panic in her eyes. She said, “Coach, I’m not sure I can make it.” I said, “Do your job.” Lexi did her job. She finished third in the race and was selected to the All-State Team. She had finished tenth the year before.

Our walk with Christ is very similar. We have a job to do as children of the Most High God. The job isn’t always pleasant and often very difficult. We get tired and are not even sure we can finish the “race set before us.” Have you ever felt like that? I know I have. We often go to passages like Philippians 4:13 that teach us we can do all things through Christ. However, it still feels as if we are alone. I think this happens because we forget that God uses other brothers and sisters in Christ to help us through those difficult times in life’s race to the finish. God allows Christ to work through us through others in Christ. Remember Lexi’s race? She had help running that race. Who was that help, me. As her coach I was able to help her focus on the race set before her when she was fearful. I was able to help her finish it during the difficult part of the race when she didn’t think she could do it.

Let me ask you a question. Who do you have in your life that can help you focus on the important things of your daily walk with Christ? Who do you have who will be honest enough to clearly tell you that you have a job to do? We all need these kind of mature godly people in our lives. I know I do. If you already have someone like this in your life, make sure you thank God for them. You might even want to take them out to lunch to say, “thank you”. If you don’t have anyone in your life like that, then pray that God would help you find one and begin to look around. God will provide someone to help you run the race that He has set before you.

Its time for me to run (yes, I thought that was clever),
P. Mark

Most every evening Kathy and I take a long walk together. Its become such a family tradition that our dog Emma goes nuts when she hears the dishes being put away because she knows she gets to go also. I’ve been doing some study in Ephesians and Paul brings up the theme of walking quite often. As I was thinking about what Paul was teaching I realized that the walks Kathy and I take are not all the same. Sometimes we talk about the future. Sometimes we share struggles. Sometimes we argue. And sometimes its just quiet as we each reflect on life. However, even though the walks are different, I realized that we are always walking together. Did you get my point? We are together. We seem to always choose to walk together. Our walk with God is similar. No matter what went on in your life walk with God today, did you choose to walk with Him? Here are some walking passages to reflect on: Gen. 3:8; 22:6ff; 14:29; Deut. 6:7; 8:6; Ps. 1:2; 23:4; John 8:12; Rom. 6:4; 2 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 2:10; 5:8; Phil. 3:17-18; 1 John 1:6-7, and many others. I hope you have a great day. I can’t wait to walk with my wife tonight.

This week is going to be a very busy week. We are getting ready to move to Swansea, SC and begin a new chapter of our lives. I just received some info that is going to add a lot of stress to this week. : ) I just found out that SCS is playing the Razorbacks. I’m not sure who to root for! I still live in AR, but I am moving to SC. Hmmmmmmmm, what should I do?

I have been reading through the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. If I want to be honest I have to admit it is a very depressing book. God is fed up. He has had enough. He is tired of the Israelites, His chosen people, turning their backs on Him. Do you want to know how mad God is with this rebellious people? Take a look at these verses: Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, and 14:11. Three times God commands Jeremiah to not even pray for the Israelites. Can you imagine that? God Himself telling someone not to pray for someone else! I don’t know about you, but if I made God that mad at me I would be VERY worried! I hope you can begin to grasp the gravity of the situation that God’s people are in. They have walked far away from God. Their lives are filled with greed, immorality, injustice, anger, selfishness, lies and murder. However, even in this situation there is hope. Take some time and look at Jeremiah 16:14ff; 23:3ff; 30-31; 32:36ff; and chapter 33. In these passages we find God promising to restore Israel. Yes, He is going to severely discipline them. Yes, He is going to allow their sin to cause pain and suffering. But, He will restore them.

Maybe you have been walking the same path the Israelites did. Maybe God is in the process of disciplining you right now. Let me encourage you to turn to God and say, “I’m sorry.” He is waiting to restore you. He wants to wrap His arms around you and tell you that He loves you. No matter what you have done God will never abandon you. He will let you walk away. He will discipline you if you go to far. But, He will never leave you or forsake you if you belong to Him. This has encouraged me this week and I hope it will encourage you. We serve an awesome God!!

I don’t know about you, but I love to experience life’s “firsts.” Do you know what I mean? Most of you fondly remember your first kiss, your first love, your first job, your first hunt, your first car, your first…you fill in the blank. Over the last couple of weeks my wife and I have experienced a number of “firsts.” We drove to Swansea, SC for the first time. We saw chicken gizzards and livers on a buffet line for the first time. We experienced the love of God’s people at Sardis Baptist Church for the first time. And, for the first time in my life, we saw a church come together and vote for their pastor as a unified whole. Yes, it really did happen. 100% of the people who voted said, “yes, we want you to be our pastor.” My wife and I could not believe our ears! We are so excited to begin our ministry alongside of these wonderful people. There are a lot more “firsts” in our near future and we are excited about them, but I want anyone who reads this blog to know that the love shown by the members of Sardis Baptist Church, the love that led to many of these “firsts,” was possible because they were loved first by God. The Apostle John wrote in John 4:19, “We love, because He first loved us.” I pray that you have come to personally understand that “first.” If you haven’t I would love to talk to you about it. I’m ready to meet you for the first time so I can introduce you the One who first loved you.

I must leave now, so I can get ready for my first sermon as Sardist Baptist Church’s new pastor. Have a great day and enjoy what ever “firsts” God brings into your life today.

Hey SBC,

You know, some days it is very difficult to get up and get ready to go out in the world. I don’t know if you have ever felt that way, but a few times it has been that way for me. I can’t remember why I felt that way now, but I did. And it just dawned on me that if I can’t remember why I felt that way, whatever it was must not have been a really big deal.

You know what SBC? A really big deal is about take place. You all better get up and get ready because I feel a change coming soon. I don’t know where the Search Committee is in it’s search, but I sense a change coming soon for you all. I am not sure what the change is, but one thing I know is that Jesus is Lord and as such He alone is in control. He is doing what needs to be done to put SBC in the position that He desires her to be in. Continue to trust Him as He brings about this change or changes.

Get up, get ready SBC!

Rest assurred that you all are prayed for every evening when Carole and I have our prayer time. We have not stopped praying for you all and the work that you all are doing there in the Swansea area. In fact we are now not only praying for the future soon coming pastor, but also for the Family Fun Day at The Park.

Love ya,

Pastor Dean, recent former pastor

Have you ever had to wait on something that you really wanted? I have and it can be a very difficult thing to do. When you are in the waiting room, time just seems to drag on by. Minutes become hours and hours become days.
So it is with me right now. I have been waiting for a position to open here in the Rock Hill area for Carole. She is still working at Blanchard Machinery in Columbia and staying with her mom during the week. We have been doing this for going on eleven weeks now and it isn’t any fun at all. I really hate this waiting thing.
You know even though I hate this waiting thing, I still know that our Lord is in control and I’m trusting Him to do what’s best. In fact Romans 8:28 tells me that He is going to do whatever needs to be done to make all of this work out for the best. He, when He is ready, will move Carole to a position here at home that will be just what we need for her to have. He will also do it in such a way that He will bring glory to Himself.
I do hate this waiting thing, but I can say that I have gotten things done that I might not have if she had been with me. My prayer now is that I have gotten those things done that needed to get done, so that our Lord can open that position up for Carole now. Sorry, I miss my wife during the week!
SBC you are waiting for the man that our Lord has called, equipped and anointed to be your next Sr. Pastor. I know that it seems time is just dragging on by, but trust our Lord. He is doing everything that needs to be done to put you all in position to accomplish all that He wants you to accomplish under this new pastor. And while you’re in this waiting room getting ready for this new pastor, trust and support Pastor Randy as he leads you through this time.

Love ya,

Pastor Dean, former Sr. Pastor

Hey SBC,
I wanted you all to know how sorry I was to hear about the fire this past Wednesday night. As one that put a lot of things out in the mobil unit I know that there were a lot of memories that went up in flames. When I viewed the pictures that Theresa sent my mind was flooded with memories. For example, I remembered when the youth used the mobil unit for classes. It was then broken up into two seperate classes. The Jr. Highers met on one side and the High Schoolers on the other side. I remembered when we made the decision to put the two groups together, by necessity, and we tore the wall down that had seperated them. In my mind’s eye I can still see that unit running over with young people on Wednesday and Sunday evenings.
I remember too when the youth were moved out because we could never get it to cool properly. The Adult 3 Sunday School class gave up their room in the Fellowship Hall and allowed the youth to begin meeting in it. They soon out grew that room and we had to tear down the wall that seperated the two rooms in the Fellowship Hall.
I also remember when we decided to, again by necessity, to use the unit for storage. At first it was plenty of room. Then we bought new tables and put the old ones in there for members to have access too when needed for family functions. We then put shelves in it in order to get things up off the floor; or as Mr. Emmett said: “Everything can have a place and be in it’s place when it is needed!” We all know how that worked out too. Did anyone outside of Mr. Emmett, Mrs. Miriam, Judy Sharpe or staff ever really put anything back where it belonged or clean up everyone else’s mess?
As I viewed the pictures I not only thought about these things but also about how God is always in control. He has taken care of SBC for over 173 years and He did in the midst of the fire. What would have happened if it would have started just a couple of hours later? No doubt the Fellowship Hall would have suffered damage and most likely the rest of the buildings. God is sovereign and is therefore perfect in all that He does and allows to happen!
SBC, my heart is with you at this time and I encourage to trust our God and watch Him do His work in His time and in His way!! He is in control!!!

Love ya,

Pastor Dean, former Sr. Pastor