Humility

Kim was recently listening to the radio while working in her craft room. She heard a man speaking on the subject of humility. He  defined humility in a way that really spoke to her. When she shared this with me I thought this would be a good subject to put in the blog. The Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. We seldom have original thoughts anyway so I am "stealing" this thought in order to share it with you.

How often have you heard people say about themselves that they are worthless, no good, or just plain awful? I have heard many people live their lives with this cloud surrounding them echoing the Biblical words, "I am a worm." This is their attempt to be humble. Humility is a grace that we should attempt convey. But what is humility? Jesus was our best example of this virtue. He certainly would be a good one to follow. So how did he portray humility? Did he go around telling everyone how worthless he was? Did he have a dark cloud around him? Not at all.

What the speaker on the radio said that day was. "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less" - CS Lewis. Humility contains the aspect of putting others and their benefit ahead of your own. I recently got a flyer in the mail for a youth conference. They were calling it "iConference." Taken from the term the iGeneration where we obsess about our iPads, iPods, iPhones, iMacs, etc., the play on the word "i" was obvious. We are living in a me first generation. Rev 3:14 is address to the Church at Laodecia. This church is characteristic of the church in our historical timeframe. The word Laodecia means "rights of the people." Boy does that ever make sense. Look around and notice the clamor for the rights for gays to marry, the right of the mother to terminate her unborn child, the rights of illegal immigrants, the right to bear arms, and the list goes on and on. We are obsessed with our rights.

Jesus came to "give himself a ransom for many." He demonstrated the greatest degree of love by dying on the cross for the sin of mankind. The Bible says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Jesus demonstrated the greatest degree of humility by putting others ahead of himself. He died so we might live.

A New Adventure

Maybe I am going through a bit of a mid-life crisis or maybe I have just lost it a little bit. Either way, I recently bought a ukulele. OK, now that the laughter has died down a bit I just want to say, I AM HAVING A BLAST. I started playing guitar when I was just a little guy about 10 years old. I was never very good but I loved to play. I have played all kinds of music in my life. At Christmas time I bought JB a small ukulele just for the fun of it. I had it around the house for about six weeks prior to giving it to him for Christmas. During that time I could not help but pick it up and play around with it a little, you know just to check it out and make sure it was not broken or anything! I enjoyed it so much I started looking around for a good deal on one for myself. I have gotten on the internet and began teaching myself how to play. One day I want to be able to play well enough to play in church. At least there not too many people will laugh me out of the building! Anyway, thats my story and I am sticking to it.

"Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings." - Psa 33:2

"David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy." - 1 Chron 15:16

"I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel." - Psa 71:22

Logan the usher

This week I want to introduce you to another church member. My dutiful assistant, Haley, has been preparing bio's for me to include so this is her first contribution.

Logan Simpson is one of our ushers at The Church at Katy. He works as a computer tech guy for some of the local schools in Houston. At 22, Logan is also a talented comic book artist/illustrator , T-shirt designer, and is developing his own T-shirt company. When asked what he enjoyed most about the church he said, "I really like our pastor. He has a great style in his messages, and I appreciate how he adheres to the truth. He isn't afraid to talk about the touchy subjects, and he really hits the nail on the head." (Thanks for the props Logan the check is in the mail!!!)

Do It As Unto the Lord

Kim and I have been doing a marriage counseling session each Friday night with another couple. This is the second time we have used this particular teaching material. One thing that stuck out in my mind this time through is the statement, "whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord." The basic premise or principle this taught me is that I am to show my love to my wife as though I were showing my love to the Lord. When I do this, her actions are secondary. It does not matter what she does or what she says. I am loving Christ through her. If you stop and think about this it changes everything. So much of what we do in our relationships is based on responding to what others say and do. Would your arguments with your spouse stop if you thought you were relating to God? I dare say this one thought will revolutionize your marriage.

Pastor Nixon Ackon is one of the missionaries our church supports. Nixon is a missionary with the Rock of Ages Prison Ministries in Ghana, W Africa. I first met Nixon back in 1998 while I was living in Ghana. I was out in town soul winning and inviting people to our newly established church, Rehoboth Baptist Church in Takoradi. I went to a little hardware kiosk to follow up with the lady who owned the store. Nixon was there doing the same thing for his church. We began to talk about our respective churches. He claimed to be a Baptist pastor but as we talked he confessed that he only chose that name for his church because he had met some people from the USA that were Baptists and he wanted to associate with them. He asked if we could work together. I asked him about what he believes the Bible teaches about certain things and realized very quickly we were not in agreement doctrinally. I invited him to my house where, for the next several months,  we studied the Bible together, in particular the doctrines that make me a Baptist. Soon after that time Nixon went back to a Baptist Bible Institute and studied further, was eventually ordained in our church, and has been serving the Lord faithfully ever since. Nixon, his wife Mary, and their children were a very faithful family in our church for many years while we served in Ghana.

Home Sweet Home

Earlier this week we returned home from an eleven day, 3,600 mile trip that took us through ten states. It a great trip as trips go. We got to see a lot of family and friends we had not seen for a while. We did not get to see everyone we wanted to because of work schedules and such but it was good. Micah (our now 13 year old) got to see and experience a beautiful snowfall. We were able to attend our son JB’s junior classical guitar recital. The time away (coupled with many hours behind the wheel) afforded me the opportunity  to do a lot of meditating, thinking, and planning. I must confess that I needed the time away.

As good and enjoyable as the trip was, Kim and I both said when we walked through the door, “It is so good to be home.” Most of us have had this feeling of getting back home after an extended time away. Why is it so? What makes home such a great place to be? 

Home is a place where we can be ourselves. If we want to walk around barefoot and in our PJ’s we can! If we want to kick back and do nothing at all, we can. If we want to raid the fridge for a little indulgence, no one cares. Most of the time it is a place where we can be who we are without wondering if we are offending someone or getting in someone else’s space. We don’t have to be on edge. And the valleys in our mattress fit us perfectly.

This is the feeling one should get when he comes to church regularly. Church should be a place where you feel comfortable being. It should be a place where you fit in and can be who you really are without putting on a facade. It should be a place where you look forward to going.

“Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

Irresistible Force - Immovable Object

We took a three day journey to the Midwest to see family that we have not seen for quite a while. Traveling to the north in January was not exactly the most desirable timing, but, it worked out that way. Micah, out 12 year old, has never seen snow. He began to pray that it would snow while we were there. I was born and raised in Chicago so I was praying we would not see snow. God loves it when children pray so Micah got his prayer answered. I had to be satisfied with a resounding "NO" to my prayer. We arrived to -1 temps. Our first morning we woke up to a beautiful six inch snowfall. I have to admit it was a beautiful site even though driving in it was no great bargain.

We often pray with faith only to have God answer our prayer with "NO." Think about that. When God says no to us He may be saying yes to someone else's request. It all works together for good and God knows what is best.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." - Rom 8:28

Justified Freely!

Missionary Roger Hopgood shared in our morning services today. He is a missionary to our nation's military primarily in the Northwest. What a tremendous ministry it is to take the gospel message to the young men and women who serve our country.

This week I'd like to introduce you to a great family in our church. Patrick and Debbie Hughes have been a tremendous blessing and encouragement to our church. They have been in the daycare business for over sixteen years and have a big heart for young people. Patrick is a flight instructor. They both attended Bob Jones University together and were married shortly after leaving school.  They have four beautiful and talented children. Patrick has been a great encouragement to me personally as he leads music, teaches both children and adult classes, and has taken up the mantle of doing whatever needs to be done. Debbie has a big heart of compassion and uses her gifts to edify and encourage the ladies in our church.

Rom 3:23-26 teaches a wealth of doctrine that is ultimately important to our faith. Verse 24 says, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 

Verse 26 says that God justifies those that "believe in Jesus." Comparing other scriptures we understand that simple belief in the fact that a man named Jesus once existed does not justify anyone. The devil believes in Jesus but he most assuredly is not saved. The belief that saves that the Bible teaches is a transfer of trust onto the finished work of Jesus Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus' death paid the demand of God for payment for sin. God was "propitiated" by Jesus' sacrifice of himself on the cross. Because Jesus redeemed us, we stand justified before a holy righteous God.

What a tremendous thought. Thank you Lord!

Second Entry

Here is my second entry. I have thought a lot about what format this blog should take in order to keep people interested in reading it. I have lots of ideas so we shall see what path we choose!

Haley Simpson

I would first of all like to introduce my Assistant Editor in Charge of Keeping Me On Track, Haley Simpson. Haley is 18 years old, recently graduated, and eager to serve the Lord with her many talents and interests. She loves art, is a fine musician, and has a very servant minded spirit. Haley is still seeking God's path for her life. She would like to get involved in designing and producing Christian themed T-shirts. I have asked Haley to assist me in gathering information about the people in our church so we can introduce them to you over time. So if you are a member of the church and Haley comes to you asking questions please do not turn her away!


In church I am just coming to the end of series of sermons I have been preaching on the letters to the seven churches in Revelation. It has been a great study as I have sought to make this biblical prophecy relevant and practical. One of the things that has impacted me personally from this study is the progression of sliding away from God's intended purpose for the church. In Rev 4:11 the Bible teaches us that we are and were created for God's pleasure. Everything we do or do not do in this life should be pleasing to God. Paul said it this way, "Whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God." The big "take away" from this series has been that it is not about you/me/us, but it is about God. We see in the rebuke to the churches a gradual sliding away from a God centered existence. I am quite sure that the Church of today hardly resembles the church of old. In some cases that may good. The world is evolving and changing. In some aspects we must change with it in order to be an effective witness of the gospel. However, we must never allow our principles, doctrine, and purpose to change. Methods change but principles do not. What God deemed as sinful and repugnant years ago is still sinful and repugnant. God's Word does not change neither does His standards of morality. If, as I believe, we are in or close to being in the Laodecian Church Age, we need to take heed and repent. Apathetic Christianity is deplorable to God.

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Missionary Robert Bottom

Over the next couple of weeks our church family will be blessed by spending time with two missionaries, one we support and one we are hosting for the first time. Missionary Roger Hopgood, missionary to the military, will be presenting his ministry during the Sunday School hour on January 20th.

Missionary Robert Bottom, missionary to the Harris County Prison system, will be filling the pulpit morning and evening January 27th. Our church has supported the Bottom family for four years. Missionary Bottom is an excellent preacher. You will be blessed by hearing him.