tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-279987542024-02-28T03:14:22.853-05:00HEATH'S HEARTBEATheath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-57002153747273238002012-12-21T10:35:00.001-05:002012-12-21T10:35:20.698-05:00Already Over the Fiscal CliffGoing over the fiscal cliff? we are already over it, and have been for a long time. We are a nation $16 trillion in debt for heaven's sake!<br />
Sadly there is not a politician in sight with the guts to CUT anything. They are scared to CUT government spending and entitlements. All they think about is the next election. Staying in power; regaining power. We now have a class of people -- professional politicians.<br />
the days of a government "by the people, for the people, and of the people" are long gone. Now it is a government "by the politicians, for the politicians and of the politicians."<br />
The fate of the nation seems to be of no concern. The big concern in Washington is winning the next election.<br />
More taxes = more spending (waste) = more debt = more decline.<br />
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How much faith can I have in a class of politicians who took us over the cliff to get us out of the mess?heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-79240944313935251602012-04-22T21:58:00.000-04:002012-04-22T21:58:12.653-04:00NauseatedI am nauseated at the mamby-pamby, dudley-do-rights, so called "preachers" or "ministers" who are scared, cowards who will not stand on the truth of God's Word.
What is the matter? Are we scared of man? Or do we fear the Lord our God? Who will we stand before on the day of judgement, and to whom will we give account?
I read the headline in our local paper today, the vote on the upcoming constitutional amendment stating that marriage is between one man and one woman has caused consternation for some local clergy. Nauseating. It isn't "tricky". Ask yourself -- where do you stand? What is tricky about that?
Either you stand on God's word or you don't. If you choose not to stand on the word of God, then don't call yourself a man of God. If you don't believe, preach, teach, obey God's word, then ask youseself "do I love God?" Jesus says that if we love Him we will keep His word. Do you love God? The God of Holy Scripture or the god of your own making?
Man, "be not deceived, God is not mocked."
Settle it: do you serve the Most High God or do you serve Satan?heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-72932788861944921072012-03-29T10:10:00.002-04:002012-03-29T10:15:11.123-04:00Self-effacing LeadersI wanted to send the following quote to some of our SBC leaders, but wouldn't you know it -- they don't have contact e-mail address on "their" websites. I am sure you have to go through somebody to get to them - they are so busy and important. So anyway here is the quote:<br /><br /><em><strong>"Until self-effacing men return again to spiritual leadership, we may expect a progressive deterioration in the quality of popular Christianity year after year till we reach the point where the grieved Holy Spirit withdraws - like the Shekinah from the temple." -- A W Tozer</strong></em>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-63593240480227149882011-08-18T09:55:00.003-04:002011-08-18T10:11:57.671-04:00The Way Things LookIn our age, image is seemingly everything. The power of marketing is hard to overstate. The way things look send a message, and rightly or wrongly, people make decisions based on appearance.
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<br />Today, at the <a href="http://www.drudgereport.com">drudge report</a>, there are two pictures. At the top is a picture of our president, Barrack Obama -- he is shown on vacation at Martha's Vineyard, riding a bicycle (an old-timey one, not a mountain bike) smiling gleefully, in his long pants and golf shirt. He is wearing a helmet, and following along behind him is a girl (I assume his daughter) on another smaller bicycle. Of course there is nothing wrong with a man enjoying a bike ride on vacation with is child. However, some facts to keep in mind with this picture -- here is the leader of the USA, a nation that is seemingly on the brink of economic Armageddon, fighting two (three if you include Libya) wars with soldiers dying everyday and the ten year anniversary of 9-11 coming up with the threat of more terrorism always looming. (I would not want the president's job -- then again I didn't run a national campaign to get it either.)
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<br />The other picture on the drudge report is a little lower on the screen, but visible (above the fold if you will). It is a picture of Mr Putin -- leader of Russia. He is standing with a dark suit on, wearing a red "power" tie, with a Russian military officer to his left and some other official on his right. He is wearing aviator sunglasses and has a stern glare.
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<br />A contrast. USA <strong>looks</strong> soft; Russia<strong> looks</strong> hard.
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<br />Just an observation.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-49679728841686367932010-12-21T11:12:00.002-05:002010-12-21T11:21:02.902-05:00See The Glory of GodI think for 2011 I will adopt a verse of Scripture that will be my "life verse" for the year (and really why not for all of life - every year?)<br /><br /><em><strong>John 11:40 -- Jesus saith unto her, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"</strong></em><br />I know (Heb 11:6) that without faith is impossible to please God; this year (and throughout all of my life) I desire to please God -- by exercising genuine faith in Him; to believe Him; to trust Him; to walk (live) by faith and not by sight. Why? Because like Moses I desire to see the glory of God. I desire to see the glory of God on display in my life, in the life of this His church, in this community and in this world. Oh God! Be glorified! This is His mission; I desire to be a part of that mission. <br /><br />Now, may I get out of the way with "my" will and "my" way; Lord, help my unbelief, may I not sin by not believeing You and trustuing you and obeying you completely. Lord, may this year, this day, this moment, may we behold Your glory and be forever transformed.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-29790428875092130882010-12-17T09:50:00.002-05:002010-12-17T10:03:44.449-05:00Who Hates Us?John 7:7 - "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil."<br /><br />I get fretted when I hear self-appointed, evangelical "leaders" tell us how to live "missionally" and be men-pleasers so then we can witness to them the Gospel of Jesus.<br /><br />I never see Jesus trying to win friendship with the world by being like the world or catering to them -- He loved the world, evidenced by His death for sinners (surely) but also by telling the truth -- in fact He is the Truth. He exposed the evilness in the heart of man; He exposed the evil works of man as evil; He shone light in darkness, and darkness hates the light.<br /><br />As Christians, "little Christs", I ask, "who hates us?" Does the world hate us, or do they simply tolerate us? Perhaps they laugh at us, and that really upsets some of us -- its like we want the world's apporoval and friendship.<br /><br />I don't make a big deal out of it, but some Christian "leaders" have been sneering down their noses at some of the brethern for making a big deal of not patronizing stores that refuse to use the word "Christmas." So be it. When did it become OK for Christians not to stand up for Jesus' name? OK, you may think it silly to boycott said stores, that we're not going to impact the Kingdom by such foolishness. But at least these brethren are standing up for something and not just letting the world forget Jesus -- the reason for the season. Let the stores hate us Christians; let the world hate us Christians -- then we might be looking more like our Master.<br /><br />I'm not advocating being a jerk. Jesus wasn't a jerk. But may we so live and conduct our lives in this darkness that it will be unmistakeable that we have been with Jesus. May we not be so consumed with winning the friendship of the world, but may we be consumed with being Jesus-pleasers.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-4933110971597902002010-10-08T11:00:00.002-04:002010-10-08T11:10:46.210-04:00Be Ye Holy<strong>" . . . holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord" - Psalm 93:5</strong><br /><br />I recently came across a story where a church in South Carolina rocked out to Poison's "Nuthin' But a Good Time" one Sunday morning during "worship."<br /><br />This is not all that uncommon in 2010 America. This is scary, however.<br /><br />Scary, becasue our God is a holy God. Scary, becasue He demands His people to be a holy people. Scary, becasue we don't seem to fear God as being perfectly holy and righteous. Scary, because we approach Him very casually and with the incense and worship of Baal. Holiness and evil do not seem to mix well together. Scary, because how long will God tolerate this blasphemy among those who are called "His people?"<br /><br />I pray that we will have a fresh vision of God, like Isaiah recorded in chapter six of his book. Read it. Does this sound like modern worship on Sunday mornings?heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-56317035952631768952010-08-22T16:31:00.002-04:002010-08-22T16:39:15.326-04:00Where"s Jerry Falwell?With all of this swirling around about the mosque at the World Trade Center, I was just wondering -- where is the outspoken Christian leader? Who will take a stand for the truth and Him whose name is Truth? Who is NOT ashamed of the Gospel, the exclusivity of the Gospel that Jesus preached? Where are the true men of God who are not afraid to carry the cross into the public arena and risk being crucified on it? Who will rise up and call political correctness what it is -- from hell? I pray that the Lord would raise one up, a modern day Jeremiah with a "Thus says the Lord". We, as a nation, slide further and further away from righteousness and most Christians just want to "feel good" when they leave church. Lord, please, shed Your grace on this country that I love and raise up disciples who deny themselves and carry the cross.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-85265538263966749602010-05-12T14:42:00.002-04:002010-05-12T15:06:52.681-04:00I Want a GCRCome June in Orlando, the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will be voting on some important matters. The way this is being talked up on the internet -- on blogs and on Twitter - and the way that the GCRTF is going all over the USA promoting their plan in "panel discussions" -- the average messenger is bound to think, "Man, this is BIG." And perhaps it is.<br /><br />I have followed some of the writings concerning the GCRTF recommendations, and I have looked over the report that has been publically submitted. I have listened to a little of the not-so-positive feedback as well. At this point I don't know how I will vote in Orlando. I must pray and seek the Lord's guidance, and I must read up some more on the subject.<br /><br />However, what I do know is that I do not see a Great Commission Resurgence mentioned in the New Testament, and believe it or not I don't see the Southern Baptist Convention mentioned in the NT. What I do see, however, is obedient followers of the Lord Jesus Christ - with no internet, no money, no printing press, no "bloated beuracracies", -- empowered by the Holy Spirit of God going "everywhere preaching the Word." (Acts 8:4)<br /><br />We don't need to fiddle with man's programs to achieve a Great Commission Resurgence, we need faithful, holy, obedient men of God who will unashamedly stand (wherever God puts them) and preach the Word.<br /><br />We don't need to be enamored with culture and try to fit in and be hip and cool and be all friendly with the world -- see James 4. No, the "plan" called forth in Scripture was given to Timothy in that rotten city of Ephesus. Paul didn't say "Timothy, go do a study, find out what the people want, try to appeal to them on their level, incorporate the world (music, entertainment) into your services there." No, the instruction was simply -- "Timothy, preach the Word!" (See 2 Timothy 4)<br /><br />Perhaps if more men stood and proclaimed the Word of God -- line-by-line and precept-upon-precept -- the sheep would be more healthy, and healthy sheep reproduce, and healthy sheep go forth into the highways and hedges -- because they love Jesus and want to be obedient.<br /><br />We don't need better, re-designed programs. We need holy men of God set on fire and empowered by the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />When we get our eyes off of ourselves, and back on Jesus; instead of lifting up our programs and our denomination and our ideas and lift high the blood-stained banner;<br />when we repent of our worldliness, and come out from among them and live seperated lives of holiness -- we might indeed see a Great Commission Resurgence and people coming to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ the Lord.<br /><br />I want to see a GCR; I just want to see it God's way.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-82698842446975002782010-05-05T13:38:00.002-04:002010-05-05T13:41:53.364-04:00A Real Converted MuslimCheck out the website of <a href="http://www.timothyabraham.org">Timothy Abraham.</a>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-61505615430853034392010-05-03T12:06:00.005-04:002010-05-03T12:20:32.208-04:00It's TrueRomans 3:10 & ff. is true.<br /><br />"There is none righteous, no, not one;<br />There is none who understands;<br />There is none who seeks after God.<br />They have all turned aside;<br />They have together become unprofitable;<br />There is none who does good, no, not one."<br />"Their throat is an open tomb;<br />With their tongues they have practiced deceit."<br />"The poison of asps is under their lips";<br />"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."<br />"Their feet are swift to shed blood;<br />Destruction and misery are in their ways;<br />And the way of peace they have not known."<br />"There is no fear of God before their eyes."<br /><br /><br />Thankfully, Romans 6:23 is true too.<br /><br />"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."<br /><br />Today I am praying for the salvation of lost people.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-92041637903709775892010-03-17T12:38:00.002-04:002010-03-17T12:56:07.132-04:00God Knows<strong>Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."</strong><br /><br />I read this morning about the death of a lady that I had the pleasure of knowing, and serving as her pastor. Mrs Hazel Ward died last week and was buried on Sunday. I doubt very seriously if many folks outside of tiny Northampton County, NC - in particular the communities of Woodland and George - would have even have known Hazel.<br /><br />She was the mother of one daughter - Pam - who passed away as a young woman. Later Hazel laid her husband, Jules, to rest. She had worked in a casket-making plant for years and retired. She lived alone. She lived quietly. She lived faithfully.<br /><br />Hazel came to church with a faithfulness that any pastor would appreciate. She came, she sang in the choir, she read and studied her Bible. She didn't make waves. She didn't gossip, or run people in the ground. She did, however, speak the truth, and was not afraid to do so.<br /><br />She suffered a stroke, a debilitating one, and had to leave her home and go to a facility. She died there. There was not any coverage on TV of this event. I didn't read it in the New York Times or even the Raleigh News & Observer. It didn't make it on Twitter or Facebook that I know about.<br /><br />But this saint, when she breathed her last was welcomed into heaven and into the presence of the Almighty God and her Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. <br /><br />You didn't know her. The world didn't know her. But God did, and her death was precious in His sight.<br /><br /><em>Thank You, father, for the life of Hazel Ward. Thank you for her smile and laugh. Thank you Lord for her faithfulness to You. Thank You, Father, that she was precious to You.</em>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-8915538648244536142010-02-13T11:53:00.002-05:002010-02-13T12:12:07.453-05:00Love Not the WorldThis is Valentine's weekend. <br />You know that retailers love that "weekend" - more time to sale their wares.<br /><br />Anyway, around the 14th of February every year we hear lots about love. Of course this is the "eros" love -- love for one's sweetheart.<br /><br />I am prone to think about "what do I love?"<br />To what do I give my time and resources, my love?<br /><br />Indeed, isn't a sure sign of love what one "gives" for it?<br /><br />We know that God has so loved us that he "gave" His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to save us from hell.<br />As one ancient has said,"We are most like God when we give." And God is love.<br /><br />However in the same book of the Bible that teaches us that truth, we are also taught <strong><strong>"Do not love the world or the things in the world." -- 1 John 2:15</strong></strong><br /><br />That's the sharp point to me -- do I love the world and things in this world?<br /><br />If I love the world and the things in the world it will show, will it not? It will show up in my decisions. It will show up in my bank statement. It will show up in how I spend my time. It will show up in what I give my mind, my eyes, my ears -- and ultimately my heart -- to.<br /><br />What does my life reveal about what I love?<br />What does my conversation reveal about what I love?<br /><br />We are taught in Scripture that the first and greatest commandment is to what? "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength."<br />Catch that word -- <strong>"all".</strong><br />That doesn't leave room for the world or the things in the world.<br /><br />Does my life reveal that I love God with everything?<br />Does my conversation reveal that God is my treasure above else?<br /><br />I pray that I will not be enamored with this world, this world that is passing away, this world that hates my Savior and seeks to lure me further and further away from Him.<br />May I love the Lord my God with a pure, undivided heart.<br />To His glory.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-80386707135250458182010-01-25T19:53:00.002-05:002010-01-25T20:17:01.456-05:00Random Things 1/25/10* Cannot get my mind around 200,000 people in Haiti dying as the result of an earthquake. Wrestle with what a tragedy of that scale does to a country like Haiti. I also wonder how all these journalists can film and take photos, etc., of people digging through the rubble for their loved ones and not drop their cameras/microphones and help them dig? Am also troubled how we as a people can send millions and millions of free-will offerings to a place we've never been to people we've never met and yet we tolerate children in our own communities going without food, and older people going without meds. There are serious cracks in the system that we turn blind eyes to.<br /><br />* Again, we are devestated by the natural disasters that afflict our planet and its people, yet we won't even take a moment to pray for, much less get out of our comfort zone and go to our neighbors and tell them the way to avoid hell for all eternity. I am not sure we grasp the fact that hell is real and eternity is forever.<br /><br />* along those lines, we spend hours and hours of our lives on the computer -- facebooking, twittering, blogging, youtubing, ituneing, etc - when it is time we could be praying, studying Scripture, interacting with folks face-to-face in our homes and community. One day we will give an account of how we spent our time. Think about it.<br /><br />* I miss my mother's voice.<br /><br />* Accepted an invitation to preach at a community-wide youth revival this spring in Virginia -- begin now to pray and seek God's guidance in what to bring to hungry young people.<br /><br />* Was glad to see little tiny babies at church yesterday with their Moms and Dads.<br /><br />* Started reading The Reformed Pastor by Baxter. Read this book long ago, and certainly worth a second, third, fourth, . . . read.<br /><br />* Know that I am blessed of God, a recipient of His amazing grace, and so undeserving of all His benefits toward me. May I live to His glory alone.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-33256838579581956072009-12-20T11:16:00.002-05:002009-12-20T11:28:47.957-05:00Man, This Hurts<strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -- Hebrews 10:24-25</span></em></strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Man, this is hard, and it hurts. To look out the window, in the 11:00 hour, on Sunday, and see the church parking lot empty, and me sitting in the house.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Missing church, not being with the people, not fellowshipping together, not for a moment sharing the common life of being a child of God when we come together in His house to focus our attention upon Him. It hurts.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I have enjoyed sharing a time of worship with my wife and children. It is a tremendous blessing to hear your children read Scripture, to hear them pray, to join in our living room and sing God's praises, to be able with these precious gifts from God break the bread of life, to serve as the priest in our home. I am so thankful.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">But I miss being with God's people, in God's house, on the Lord's day. In some ways I am thankful for this time away as it makes me (I pray) more grateful for the time we can and do spend together. To appreciate more this foretaste of heaven when all of God's children - from every tribe, tongue and nation - will be gathered around His throne to worship and praise Him forevermore. Until that time, may we not neglect meeting together.</span>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-47410179408396355172009-12-08T11:46:00.002-05:002009-12-08T12:06:14.788-05:00Perishing & Renewal<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><em>2 Corinthians 4:16 -- "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."</em></strong></span><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This past weekend, as we have done for the past 10 years, the wife and I, along with the children, met up with dear friends for a Christmas shopping trip in Concord, NC.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Four adults and four small children spent all day Friday traipsing around Concord Mills. When i say all day, I mean all day.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">At about 8:00 PM we were "cooked", "done", "bushed" "had had it" "beat", "worn out", "tired".</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We ate, we went to our room, crashed on our beds, and slept.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Saturday morning, Rachael and I decided to go to the Billy Graham Library, just down the road. I had heard about this place, but had never been. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> We pulled up, were greeted by a warm smile at the gate. We went towards the building itself, and saw that the entire front was designed like a cross. The grounds were decorated for Christmas. There was a sign pointing to a prayer garden. I was already feeling better.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Inside this vast building was warmth. One could feel something different -- I had not felt it at Concord Mills the previous day.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">On the beams above us were written verses of Scripture -- "For God so loved the world . . ." "Come unto Me . . ."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We took a little tour and we heard over and over about the love of God. We heard over and over how God had sent His only Son into the world to save sinners. We heard how God had used one man and his family to impact the world with that simple message. God can do anything.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">At the end, we (and everybody else that passes through those doors) were confronted with the Good News, and what we would do with it.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I left that place Saturday afternoon with the inward man renewed.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">By Billy Graham? Oh no.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">But by the Holy Spirit of God.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Thank You, Father.</span>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-28009821507742749122009-11-18T22:23:00.002-05:002009-11-18T22:44:27.784-05:00Missional ChurchToday I had the real privilege of going to Madison, NC to view the "Talking Murals" at Mt Tabor United Methodist Church.<br /><br />Now I know that many, many church leaders/pastors/denominational heads/church-growth gurus, etc, etc, pay big dollars to go to conference after conference to hear the latest in "missional" churching. This idea of really reaching out to the world, out-of-yourself style of living, promoting Jesus.<br />Most of these conferences, books, websites, all seem to look the same and are bought by people who look the same. Goatees or soul-patches, and black clothes; using the latest in technology and using all the cool buzz words.<br /><br />Then I go to Mt Tabor UMC in Madison, NC. Here is a teeny-tiny church, established in the 1800s, right off of HWY 220 in little ol' Rockingham County, North Carolina. I doubt that Mt Tabor and the Talking Murals have ever been written up in Christianity Today magazine, ever been featured or noticed by missional, urban church planter-type websites or blogs.<br /><br />But here, since 2005, nearly 20,000 people have come through the doors and rested in the quiet little sanctuary -- it truly is a sanctuary (not a "worship center") -- and been nourished with the old, old story of Jesus and His love. You are invited off of the busy highway of the world, to come sit quietly (you walk into the sanctuary under the words from Psalm 46 "Be still and know") and hear about the Lord Jesus Christ - what He has done and what He invites you to do - receive His gift of salvation and love into your heart.<br /><br />You are encouraged to leave your prayer requests in a box at the back, and the church looks at each one every Sunday morning and prays over them at the altar. No money is charged, but Gospel tracts are offered for the taking.<br /><br />I am thankful for the Mt Tabor United Methodist Church and pray that the Lord will use this ministry in a tremendous way. They are not trying to be like the world to win the world, they simply want to declare Christ Jesus to the world. <br /><br />May all churches, church leaders, and Christian men and women do the same.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thetalkingmurals.com/">www.thetalkingmurals.com</a>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-15545105225983205982009-11-02T10:46:00.002-05:002009-11-02T10:51:38.731-05:00What Do You Think?<span style="font-size:130%;"><em>Proverbs 23:7 -- "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."</em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">"Our thoughts are the builders, which rear the temple of our character. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">If we think of unclean things - our lives will become unclean.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">If we think of earthly things - we will grow earthly.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">If we think of Christ, if thoughts of Him are in our mind and heart continually, we will be changed, moment by moment, into His beauty."</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">-- J. R. Miller</span>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-4340173747663178482009-10-30T13:44:00.002-04:002009-10-30T13:51:12.793-04:00What Is Repentance?<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><strong><em>"From that time Jesus began to preach , and to say, 'Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" -- Matthew 4:17</em></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"> Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world whatever the cost, the world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice, and you deny yourself, and take up the cross and go after Christ. Your nearest and dearest, and the whole world, may call you a fool, or say that you have religious mania. You may have to suffer financially, but it makes no difference. That is repentance. --- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones</span>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-5305240126799692072009-09-17T09:46:00.003-04:002009-09-17T10:08:09.281-04:00Hip or Holy?The Apostle Paul loved lost people and gave his life to preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus -- going to the Gentile world as far as he could, as fast as he could. His zeal to see men saved has served as an inspiration for centuries. Paul, who went up on Mars Hill in Athens and preached to the philosophers of the day, who went to the marketplace, and house to house, who planted and pastored churches and made disciples -- yes, that Paul -- wrote these words:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people."</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;">(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)</span></strong><br /><br />How do we reconcile this teaching with the thinking that we see so prevalent in the evangelical world today? We are encouraged to be like the world -- to talk like the world, to dress like the world, to engage in the world's amusements (and idolatry), to look like the world, to mimic the culture in our churches (from the architecture, to the interior design, to the music, to the graphics) and lives -- all in the name of "trying to win some." We must be "missional".<br /><br />Do we win the world by being like the world? By catering to the world? To feeding our flesh and theirs? Do we dumb-down the message just to make it easy to swallow for lost people?<br /><br />Or do we follow the teaching of God's Word -- "come out from them and be ye separate."? Should we not preach the whole counsel of God -- His holiness and wrath on sin as well as His mercy and grace? It seems the message of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was for His followers to be different.<br /><br />Are we guilty of the charge that Jesus made to Peter -- are we more mindful of the things of man than we are the things of God? Who is the focus of our worship, our lives, our churches? Seekers or God? Are we man-centered or God-centered? Is our concern to be hip or holy? To be relevant at all cost or to be righteous?heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-23401241695341235062009-08-25T10:44:00.002-04:002009-08-25T10:46:36.338-04:00Trust In His Holy Name"Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is our help and our shield.<br /> For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.<br /> Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee."<br /><br /> -- Psalm 33:20-22heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-73186149708482102922009-08-22T13:04:00.002-04:002009-08-22T13:54:18.944-04:00SBC ConcernsHaving been in the Southern Baptist Convention my entire life, having been born and bred in a SBC pastor's home, educated in SBC schools, and now a pastor myself in SBC churches I feel that I can comment with some (not infinite, not perfect - just some) insight.<br /><br /><strong>1. I ask where are the pastors and lay people?</strong><br /> It seems more and more we look to the seminaries for our leadership. Just recently Dr Mohler spoke concerning the future of the SBC and we were all instructed in the blogosphere to listen and heed. Dr Akin delivers the GCR message and sits at the wheel of leading that charge.<br /> Perhaps this is because it is in the seminaries where the energy (i.e. youthfulness) and spare time lies. It is in the student ranks (and recently graduated) that movements are normally born. They look to and buy into their professors' ideals and goals. Their professors (and presidents) become real heroes and guiding lights. If the professors and presidents get behind and start pushing, it is not long before the students get behind and then force the issue -- via, in the present age, blogs and other forms of new media. Professors and presidents, though very busy, are usually around and can kick around ideas and theories and find a willing audience with which to dialogue.<br /> Pastors are usually surrounded with people who are older and do not care too much about the machinations of the SBC, ideas or even theology very much (they do, they just don't know it). Pastors are usually with sick people, hurting people, lost people, miserable people, hungry people. In the off time, they are with a dutiful wife who seeks to make ends meet living on a pastor's salary and does not have a lot of energy to discuss Mark Driscoll and our involvement with Acts 29 or the rise of Calvinists in the SBC.<br /> Maybe we need seminary presidents and professors and students and mega-church CEOs (I mean pastors) to dream the big dreams, scheme the big schemes.<br /><br /> Which leads me to my second concern,<br /><strong>2. If it is not happening in the local, no-name church, will it happen at all?</strong><br /> Right now the big push is the GCR. If one looks at the names of the folks that have officially signed on, we see a lot of pastors, students, professors, bureaucrats, staff people, etc. The SBC is made up of some 14 million people. Where are they? Would they sign the page if their pastor told them to go to the website and sign it? Perhaps. The signatories might swell. They might read about it in the SBC ghetto journalism outlets (ie, state papers, homelife, mature living, open windows). But most probably will go through their daily lives and to their graves and never realize that a GCR even exists or existed -- and they'll be OK with this.<br /> We (pastors, presidents, bureaucrats, ghetto journalists) will go to the SBC next year, we'll sit on the edge of our seats waiting for the report of the GCR Study Committee, we'll see BIG, over-the-top banners and slogans promoting the GCR and so forth and so on. Then we'll come back to the hungry, hurting people we see everyday. And little (in the big picture) will have changed.<br /><br /> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:180%;">UNLESS (</span>and this is where I think if anything REAL is going to happen this is where it has to happen ------) people, the 14 million nameless and faceless Christians that make up the SBC, get serious about following and loving the Lord Jesus Christ. BIG plans, BIG thrusts, BIG resurgences can be promoted until the cows come home, but will not accomplish much until Christians get seriously in love with Jesus. Jesus says that if we love Him we will follow His commands. We are not seeing the Great Commission carried out with much fervency because so-called Christians don't really love Jesus with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength. Until this happens, in the 40,000 local, nameless, un-MEGA churches filled with everyday people we will continue to spin our wheels.<br /><br /> Seminaries, teach the men to go out to these churches and to focus NOT on themselves, NOT on the convention, NOT on style,<br /> BUT to model and live before the 14 million - - -passionate, red-hot LOVE for Jesus, and because of LOVE for Jesus, we will follow His commands and carry out the GC.<br /><br /> I pray everyday that our local church, all 330 members, here in this corner of Rockingham County, NC will bring glory to God, by sharing the love of Jesus Christ with Monroeton and the world. I also realize that I must lead, have been called by God to lead, these 330 Southern Baptists -- they do not know seminary presidents, Ed Stetzer or Mark Driscoll, they don't know where the SBC will meet next year and probably do not care. But I pray they love Jesus, and because they love Him they/we will be faithful to carry out His Great Commission.heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-14807207637961330802009-08-14T09:35:00.003-04:002009-08-14T09:57:47.700-04:00Michael Vick & Us<span style="font-size:130%;">Trust me, I have never been a real Michael Vick fan. I detest Virginia Tech football, and when the highly-touted Vick chose to go there to college, it just gave me more reason. I thought that Vick was a pampered athlete, probably all through his athletic life - always praised, never corrected, never disciplined. I imagine when he went off to Tech he was given star treatment. Do we really think that super-stud athletes are held to the same standards (academic and otherwise) as every other student?</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">When he went off to the NFL, now, in my thinking, he became a rich thug. Flipping off the fans, going through airports with stash pot and being let go, but hey everyone was buying his jersey and the Georgia Dome was packed on Sundays -- whose gonna mess that up with accountability?</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Then, as always, one's sin finds you out. (Just ask Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.) He was convicted of the horrible crime of cruelty, systematic cruelty, to animals. This time he would pay for his actions.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">****</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Now he has served his time. He has apologized. He has re-signed to play again in the NFL. Many are outraged, saying he should not be allowed to play. That the Eagles are sick to sign him and so forth and so on. No, I do not relish seeing him play football again in the NFL - but not because of his crime. He will have it hard -- especially when he goes to a rival stadium -- and with the media. I wouldn't want to be him.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;">This</span> has me thinking -- what about when folks come into our church, folks with a past. Especially in a small community where everybody knows everybody, and all that everybody has done. When they come in, we stare and talk and whisper and get on the phone and talk some more -- "you wouldn't believe WHO was in church yesterday!"</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">What if that person is really sorry for what they have done in the past and they are trying to start over? What if they have repented and trusted Christ for forgiveness? Why do we make it hard on them? Where would ANY of US be were it not for Jesus? Where is the humility in the body of Christ? Don't WE ALL deserve hell? Where would we be if not for God's amazing grace that saves wretches like me?</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I pray that the Christian church, including my own, will be a place of refuge for sinners needing forgiveness and life. It is the sick that need healing, not the well.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I think instead of condemning Michael Vick, I will pray for him. I will pray for Tony Dungy who continues to work with Vick. And I will pray that Michael Vick will be surrounded by Christians - you know, "little Christs" who will love him.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I will also pray for churches, that we will love sinners the way Jesus has loved us.</span>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-12811493150329510842009-08-03T15:10:00.004-04:002009-08-03T15:17:21.441-04:00A Rebellious Wretch<span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">I stand amazed and wonder how a perfect, holy God could love a sinful, rebellious, wretch like me -- and love me enough to send His only begotten Son to take my place on the cross, to endure the judgement of sin, as God poured out His wrath - not on me, but on Christ Jesus, that the likes of me might have fellowship with Him.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">Thank You God for saving me.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I have nothing in which to boast. </span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">All glory to God.</span>heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27998754.post-13044404374287343472009-07-29T17:10:00.003-04:002009-07-29T17:23:37.286-04:00Are You a Disciple of Jesus Christ?In Mark 8 the Lord Jesus Christ teaches that there are three marks of a disciple of His:<br /><br /> - self-denial<br /><br /> - taking up the cross<br /><br /> - following Him<br /><br />====================================================<br />* Who do I think about the most?<br />* What am I suffering because I follow Jesus?<br />* Am I willing?<br />* Is my life a pattern of surrender to His will?<br />* What evidence is there that I am a fully-devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?<br />* Do I hunger and thirst after righteousness?<br />* Am I a living sacrifice?<br />* Is my mind being transformed away from the ways and thinking of this world?heath lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15820541038801934234noreply@blogger.com0