Personal Updates...

Its been a while since we have posted anything personal. Just wanted to let everyone know things are going great. Christmas was awesome!!! My both my brothers and my sister in law came in town. We also got to hang out with his parents a little, so it was great.

The baby is growing, growing, growing! We are ten weeks away from meeting her officially!!!!!!!!!

Ministry opportunities are coming in left and right! We are praying that God will continue using us any way He can.

TRM-Dec 1

Bring your painting outfit, guys! We are going to be holding a service, as usual, but we also are going to help out by painting at the Women's facility.....

Guess Where?!?!?!

We will be at TRM this Saturday! Same time (9:30-1:30) and same place (State St and Jefferson). Please help get the word out. They have plenty of work for us to do!

THE REASONS WE ARE AT TRM

To LOVE!


To WORK!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

At the Mission Field

Guys, we are at Trinity Rescue Mission this Saturday! Please join us as we have a couple of projects to do. We could use a lot of physical help. We are doing repairs and some manual labor. In addition we are cooking, feeding and holding services! We will be there at the same Bat-time and Bat-Place: TRM from 9:30-1:30.
With Love,
Daniel

Thoughts on James 2:18-26

I have done a lot of thinking and reading lately about James 2 and the relationship between faith and works as well and thought I would offer up some thoughts regading Danny's question below. My post is too long for the comments page so I am opening a new post but it's just a reply to Danny's post "Faith without Works is Dead" below.

The lines between works resulting from living faith and works resulting from legalism (dead faith) become blurred because people generally are looking at the wrong "line". I don't even like using the word line because it's so much more than that!!! James is calling us to be honest with ourselves about is whether what we are doing is being done from a desire to make much of God or to make much of ourselves. To simply say "well, this is biblical" is not enough. Just because I mimic something that was done in the Bible does not make it God-centered.

This is where living faith comes into play.

First, we know that living faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-9) and that's how we know it's alive. It's not the same kind of faith as me saying "I have faith that Danny will be a good husband to my sister". I know good and well that there will be times when Danny does something that ticks me off royally and my faith in him will wax and wane during the years to come. This happens because any faith that I generate is dead in the corruption of my sinfulness and in the process of being made alive (sanctification). Only the faith that comes from God is living and can produce righteous works.

Second, living faith ALWAYS results in righteous works. Pay close attention here. Notice I did not say that someone who has living faith ALWAYS does righteous works. Those who have authentic faith still fail. We still have the warts of our old nature on us. When we fail, it is always a result of acting out of self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. But we have been given the ability to do works solely for the purpose of glorifying God and magnifying His name (the unsaved man does not have any desire or ability to do this). Therefore for anyone to expect a Christian brother or sister to live a legally sinless life in the eyes of the law represents a misunderstanding of what our justification is all about.

So from James' perspective (3:18), when an arrogant, legalistic Pharisee challenges him by saying "show me your faith without works", he responds by showing his faith BY his works.

James 2:18-26 is a wonderful description of the relationship between justification and sanctification. It can also be a dangerous minefield for the uninitiated. Paul had a lot to say about this too. I recommend comparing James 2:18-26 with Romans 4:1-16 and Galatians 3:1-9. You can throw Hebrews 11:8 and 11:17 in for good measure. This might give you a more "rounded" picture of what the Bible has to say on the topic.

Bottom line, as Ergun Caner once said "the difference between holiness and legalism is that legalism says 'you should be more like me', but holiness says 'you should be more like Christ'"

God calls us to holiness, not legalism.

I hope this helps.

GUESS WHO?!?!?!? (CLICK ON PICTURE!)

Our Next Visit To TRM

Lets start getting the news out! Sept. 1 is our next missions trip to the mission field! I went to a one year celebration for the Women's and Children's center of TRM. My deepest question in my heart is, "Does this make a difference?". The testimony of two women who's lives were transformed by the power of Christ through the TRM validates our work with a resounding "YES!". It does matter to the people there, when we show up. It does. Praise, God.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

I recently had a friend, who I do not believe is saved, tell me "You know, my favorite person in the Bible is James...he puts his money where his mouth is." Lately, I have been wrestling with two ideas (if you have any input on this I would appreciate it). On one side I hate legalism. There are few things I honestly hate, legalism may top that list.
Simply, legalism is a list of DO's and DONT's Christians create. It is a list by which we determine our value as a Christian or by which we judge our level of spirituality. It breeds, by nature, self-righteousness and spiritual pride. It can also breed a false sense of humility. It becomes a basis by which we judge one another. It takes sanctification out of God's hands and we fool ourselves into believing we are "good Christians". Legalism divides churches into the super spiritual ones and those who "really need to work on that". It hinders people from serving the church simply because they do not share the same "convictions". It makes us think we are obtaining a "higher position" as a Christian because we don't, say, go to movies. I believe it is one of the most horible things we can participate as Christians. It creates and makes Judges and Pharisees out of us.

That said, here is my other issue....faith without works is dead.
I do believe and live by that verse. I believe that God has enabled me and required me to do good works. I don't care what the work looks like, as long as it is Biblical. It is one of the reasons, including compassion, that I am involved with the Trinity Rescue Mission. I believe it is the perogative and a requirement of Christianity. If we don't show the world what love is in action, how can we tell them what it is in words? It would be like saying,"I have met God Himself, now leave me alone while I sit at home." If we claim to have met God Almighty, if we claim to know Perfect Love, if we claim to be "temples of the Holy Spirit" Who is love, how on earth can we not act on it?
But, of course, we can decide to not act on it. I believe it is a reason God commands us to love our neighbor (the fallen man in the Good Samaritan story). We don't get a choice in the matter. We are fallen and if left to our own devices would sit complacently while the hurting world dies around us.
But then, am I begining to live out of duty or a sense of legalism? Am I becoming a legalist in demanding of myself good works? THAT'S IT! That is my struggle today!
I think the simple answer is no. Working out of a heart of compassion and obeying God is not legalism. But it seems so close it bothers me sometimes....that's all...

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words! A Day at Trinity Rescue Mission

Calling All Painters

Hey guys, this Sat. at Trinity....be sure to bring your painting outfit! Looks like we are going to be able to paint the Women's and Children's Center...Praise God for the opportunity to do something constructive for the women and children!

The BODY in Action

This August 4th, FBC will be at the Trinity Rescue Mission. We will be there from 9:30-1:30. It is my specific prayer that, first and foremost, we will seek to love the lonely, pray for the fallen and fellowship with the needy heart. We will cook, clean and do anything else the TRM asks of us. However, God instructs us to love God and love our neighbor. When Jesus was asked the question, "Who is our neighbor?", Jesus described a man who had fallen, a man rejected by the religious and a man who no one would care for. That person, He said, is our neighbor.

Let us pray that the Love of God, given to us through Jesus Christ would, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be passed from us to those at the Trinity Rescue Mission.

I love you all, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

BABY BLESSING!!!!!

God has blessed us with a baby! We love all of our friends and now ask for your prayer support. Meredith has to change jobs, please pray for her success. Please pray for me in regards to trusting God in this very scary time (for me), financially speaking. I am super scared about the finances and am just shocked at how joy-filled my wife is during this time. Please pray that God protects me from financial fear, that I may enjoy the joy this new child brings. Please pray that God will empty Meredith and I as we raise this child. We want to give this child right back to God, knowing He can us our child to spread Jesus' love to this world. As this world gets harder and harder to live in, it will take stronger, love-centered Christians to spread the Good News!

I love our baby already....let's pray for this child's future!

Prayer

Please pray for us. We have so many things going on right now.

*Mentoring - Praise the Lord - Men are stepping up and willing to take part in the lives of other men! The Lord has opened other doors to carry this ministry over to high school students as well. Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom and direction in this process.
*Adopt-a-School Initiative - Daniel and I will be going to sit in on a meeting about churches becoming involved in tutoring children in underprivileged neighborhoods. This is mostly to gather information for others, but keep it in prayer! You never know what the Lord will lead you to do!
*Refugees - As Daniel stated in his last post, this summer we are expecting hundreds of refugees to come to Jacksonville. They come with nothing but the shirt on their backs. Be in prayer for them, and for their needs. Pray that the Lord will raise up people from all over our church to sponsor them and provide for their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs.
*On a personal note - we are still trying to sell our house on Holly Bay. Please pray that we will continue to be at peace and not worry because the Lord is good! He will provide for our needs. Pray that the right person will come along to purchase it and pray that we will be in a position to be a blessing to that person or family.

Thank you all for looking in this from time to time. Please leave a comment so we know you were here!!!!

We love you all, God bless!

A Reminder From My Friend, Dave

“The way we came to know love was that he laid down His life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who had worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” I John 3:16-18

There is so much work to be done. I feel like we have just scratched the surface. We have the homeless of TRM and now we are looking at helping literally HUNDREDS of refugees that are coming into Jacksonville this summer. Please drop me a post. I need to know who wants to be a part of this. I will give more details as the time gets closer.

On June 16th we (just the guys) are going to pick up men from TRM and take them to the FBC "Transformation" conference. Please e-mail me at bauedv@jea.com if you want to participate in that.

One last thing, if you believe that God is calling you to leadership, let me know and I have plenty of things to do. We need men willing to step up in leadership.

Blessed

LESSON LEARNED

There should be a sense of humility in serving the homeless. What we have done to the "least of these", we have done unto Him. This idea not only elevates the status of the homeless man, but also lowers our heads as we approach Him in service. I learned this lesson more deeply this past Saturday.
Lesson One! I have never felt comfortable leading prayer. I don't know why, but I don't think that it is my possition to assume that I should lead anyone in such an intimate communion with God. I lead in prayer with my wife, but that is simply out of fear of disobeying God's charge that I lead my household. But when I am with a group, I tend to pass the buck.
The past several times I have brought a group to help the homeless, I have not led in prayer. I know it sounds wrong, but I knew God would teach me a lesson and convict me of the importance of prayer. Well it happened. I don't know if you were there or saw it, but a man named Timothy, a resident of the TRM homeless program approached me. He said, "Brother, I love what you guys do here. God bless you for it. But you know what? I have a suggestion for you. You need to lead in prayer." You want to know what is crazier? I totally walked of and said, "Sure man! Next time, for sure!". WHAT?!?!?! HUH?!?!?! Right about then, the Holy Spirit grabbed me and said, "No. You do it, now." So I called everyone in voice range and prepared to pray. But when I looked at Timothy (as much as it embarrases me to say this), I could cleary see in his eyes that he was not about to follow me. He took charge, and led about twenty men in prayer. Reader? Are you getting this? A homeless man. A homeless man, submitting to the authority of God, led people who have everything in prayer. He took us into the throne room of God and shook our Spirits with a prayer filled with scripture and authority. Lesson learned. When you submit to the authority of God, prayer will flow naturally. We do not "lead" in prayer. We submit to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to carry us and others in prayer.
Lesson Number Two! I was raised on a farm and pride myself in being a hard worker. FBC had about 15 people show up to help out. The Trinity Rescue Mission had about the same in homeless people who helped out. You want to know something? Guess who finished out the car wash? Was it the "strong"? Those who get fed good homemade meals and sleep in really nice homes? NO. It was the residents of the TRM homeless program who finished the work. Honestly? I could not believe it. Here were those who we ALL deem lazy, weak, and incapable of work. And they were the last ones standing. You know, that had an impact on me and I hope you think about it. I say this not to condemn (I left before the homeless did, too!). I say this as a message. Those at the TRM are hardworking, capable, team working people. We don't know all of their stories, some are degree holding and married. We can't look at them through a filter of judgment. If we are going to make a difference in their lives, we need to know that they are people of great worth and value. We cannot approach them with prejudice and judgements.

I love you all and thank you for helping in this ministry.

Cinco de Mayo

Este sabado, el cinco de mayo...

This Saturday, May 5th we will be hosting a car wash at the Trinity Rescue Mission to help them raise money. Bring your sombrero, your dirty car, and clothes you don't mind getting wet in! My car is covered in ash right now (from the smoke from the fires in GA - they are in our prayers) and I don't plan on washing it until this Saturday :)! The Trinity Rescue Mission is located downtown (Jax) on the corner of Jefferson and Union Streets. We will be there from 9:30am until about 1:3opm. We will also be serving food (Mexican - what else?) for their lunch time. Please come and join us!
God is opening up many opportunities to help these men and women. We are in need of some older men and women to come alongside this ministry to help mentor these souls who are trying to find their way in life through Christ. Please be in prayer over this need.
See you Saturday!

A Call To Change

A letter from my Brother, William Hoagland, in it's entirety.

"Just yesterday I was home with some friends when one of them pointed toward the window and mentioned that a cop was running past us. We all moved out the door to see several cop cars rushing by. As soon as they pasted by, a good friend of mine pulled into my yard with a sense of urgency. Although his body had not completely abandoned his vehicle he was already shouting to us, telling us to get in the house. Before we could understand what he was telling us we heard over 15 shots and felt the bullets break the air over our heads. We went back into the house, warning everyone of what was happening, looking out the windows, searching for understanding.

Minutes later we heard part of the story. A man had murdered someone about 300 yards behind the house where we were at. As he fled the scene an under cover cop started to pursue him. The man went over a fence and fell into the school property right beside us. The cop called for backup and the police managed to trap the man at a fence after he had ran through the parking lot. At this point the man reached for his weapon and 4 cops shot him down a block away from the house where we were at.

If you were to draw a point there; where this man died, and with a half mile radius draw a circle, you would probably find over 15 religious buildings, all claiming to be Christian, within the circumference.

Some movements today are fervently dedicated when it comes to building religious production studios. They are about building the biggest, most technological and attractive environments as possible. Their goals include building more edifices in their community, country and even around the world. I guess people within those movements believe buildings change the heart of man and better buildings improve the efficiency. They pour time and resources into these buildings and their weekend theatrical events. There must be something more than just entertainment going on. Would someone actually believe that entertainment changes the heart of man? Yet amongst these many different buildings we find so much evil happening such as the previously mentioned act of hatred. How many more buildings do we have to build, and how many more services need to be organized, for us to make a difference in our communities? I think I speak the truth when I say, buildings do not change the hearts of man, and services do not change the hearts of man, only God changes the hearts of man.

Somewhere we have forgotten that God has chosen not to work through buildings but through people. It seems like we have forgotten that the Great Commission is fulfilled by making disciples and going, not “church planting” and attracting. We have focused our resources into buildings, maintenance and salaries neglecting the poor, the widows, the orphans, the outcast, the oppressed, those in prison and the persecuted. We have become more concerned about the condition of our services instead of the condition of our community.

We, brothers and sisters, have failed! We have failed because of our foolish decisions and selfish desires. When we make no difference in our communities we loose our flavor, we are not being light, and we are not fulfilling our mission. By becoming stale, stagnant and un-influential we leave our communities with no hope; even more, we participate in the death of our community. Maybe that is what the Spirit was trying to teach me when I estimated that there are more than 15 “christian” buildings and there were more than 15 bullets that put a man to his death in our community.

I write this to encourage change; a change of heart and of lifestyle; a change in our communities and in the world. I hope that you as a reader are encouraged to live up to your calling and I also offer two ideas for you to meditate on. I hope that you would not take these ideas and turn them into clichés but instead meditate on them, expecting them to cause some type of change in your lifestyle.

1. Christians need to stop going to “church” & start being the Church; &

2. Christians need to stop loving their services & start loving their neighbors.

May His Kingdom come and His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! "

One to Remember

In Revelation 2:4 and 5, God tells says, "Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works...". This passage written for the church of Ephesus is discussing the fact that the church had become complacent and lost their zeal and passion for Christ. His way of helping the church was to tell them to remember from where they had fallen. In other words, we are to remember the high points of our Spiritual life.
Guys, I don't think I am alone when I say that Saturday was incredible. I saw the love of God pour through the Trinity Rescue Mission. I saw people spontaneously praising God. Spontaneously grabbing each other in hugs! I mean come on! It was incredible!
To me, this Saturday was what being a Christian is all about. The greatest commandments are to love God and to love others and that was exactly what this past Saturday was all about.
****Please drop a comment or post and SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE*****



One of the highlights for me, on a personal note, was with a grandmother named Gloria. After the service and after we had fed the ladies of the shelter, I grabbed some food and let God lead me to the person He wanted me to sit with. Little did I know, that Gloria had fought several Satanic attacks just to be at the TRM that day! Her entire family flat told her not to go. She refused telling them that God wanted her at the TRM THAT DAY! Well, God sat me next to her and prompted me to be bold and ask her where she was in her relationship with God. She told me that she was not saved. Then she sort of looked at me and told me, "Every Christian has a look, a peace on their faces. And Daniel, I want that Peace on my face." I walked with her outside where I shared the Gospel with her. She asked Jesus to be her Savior. When she got back to the table, the women around her were trying to figure out why Gloria was so freaking excited! The burden was off of Gloria's shoulder and this grandmother was beaming from ear to ear!
I love you all and can't wait for our next visit to the Trinity Rescue Mission on May the 5th!

This Saturday... April 14th

We will be at the Trinity Rescue Mission downtown to demonstrate Christ's love through service and experience Christ's love through fellowship with the wonderful souls that are sheltered there. If you have any clothes (in good condition) that you would like to donate, bring them on down! Another thing I noticed was that they need hangers for the clothes that are donated. Also, they collect things like toys and gifts for the children. Many of the mothers who are sheltered there cannot afford things like birthday presents or Christmas presents so they get to "shop" through the donations to pick out a gift for their child. So the date is Saturday, April 14th, from about 9:30am until 2:00pm, at the Trinity Rescue Mission on the corner of State and Jefferson. Be there or be square!

The Lord is Risen Indeed!

As the sun rose this morning, I had the privilege of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord in worship with about 2,000 of our Moravian brothers and sisters. For those who don't know, the Moravians were the earliest Christian reformers who followed in the footsteps of the martyr John Hus after he was burned at the stake in 1415 for leading a protest against the oppression of the Roman Catholic Church (yes, they even predated Martin Luther).

The Moravians were the first to emphasize a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the atonement and covenant of His blood. In fact, it was a Moravian pastor named Peter Bohler who spoke of this personal relationship with a young Anglican priest during a trip from London to Oxford in 1737. The young Anglican left there very troubled and would later accept Christ as his personal savior. That young priest was John Wesley.

The Moravians were among the first in America to share the gospel of Christ with black slaves and Native Americans. In the earliest days of our country, they built churches were slaves could worship. Even before the civil war, some Moravian churches began integrating making them some of the first churches to allow slaves to worship alongside whites.

At Christmas, the Moravians celebrate the annual "love-feast" where all church members and guests gather as a family for a combined meal (usually sweet bread and coffee) and candlelight worship service to celebrate the birth of our Lord. In East berlin during the turmoil of 1989 Moravians gathered as usual to celebrate the love-feast. In the background they could hear the roar of the growing crowd gathering to tear down the Berlin wall. East German guards stood their ground with orders to shoot anyone who tried to jump on the wall. The Moravians brought their love-feast to the wall area and began giving the hungry, freezing guards their sweet bread and coffee. The gaurds were forced to drop their guns in order to accept this welcomed gift. With nothing to stop them, the protesters broke through and rest is history.

The Moravian Church's national cemetary ("God's Acre") is located in Winston-Salem, NC. All Moravians who desire can be buried there. All Moravians are buried in the order they die according to their marital status and gender. There are no family burial plots or gaudy moseliums. All headstones in the cemetary are the same size and height and equidistant to each other. This is rooted in the Moravian belief that all of God's children are loved equally and none is more important than any other.

Moravian worship services are liturgical and contemplative. One way to describe their worship style might be "reformed liturgical". In other words, the liturgies are rooted solely in scripture and are by no means vain! Today's sunrise service began outside the Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem (Old Salem) and concluded in the "God's Acre" cemetary. To give you a picture of the size of this cemetary, think Arlington National. As we moved toward the cemetary there were 30+ piece brass bands stationed throughout the valley playing Easter hymns antiphonally. As we gathered on the hills of the cemetary to watch the sun rise, the 6 brass bands slowly streamed down to the front to form the largest brass band I have ever seen!!!

We faced east. The sun was peeking over the horizon. We lifted our praise to our risen Savior with hymns like this:

"Lord, your body ne'er forsake,
ne'er your congregation leave;
we in you our refuge take,
of your fullness we recieve:
ev'ry other help be gone,
you are our support alone;
for on your supreme commands
all the universe depends."

"Ev'ry other help be gone, you are our support alone." The next time you buy that can of Moravian cookies at the grocery store, you can now be reminded that there is a great story of faith behind that name. May each of us follow the Moravian example by emptying ourselves of "self" so that we may be filled only with Christ.

The Flower

On Wednesday evening March 28 our aunt, Wanda Richardson, went home to be with Jesus. We buried her body this past Saturday. It was a beautiful ceremony and yet peculiar. Peculiar for two reasons. First, this is the first funeral for my mom's family where there were very few tears. It was very much a celebrated homegoing rather than a farewell. Second, for the first time a member of my mom's family asked, no insisted, that the gospel be presented at their own funeral. Aunt Wanda's final concern as she left this world was her lost family members and friends (two in particular).

She lived a full and Godly life. She was a faithful member of Calvary Baptist Church in Maclenney, FL for 26 years. The only way I know of to honor her life is to share Christ with someone who is hurting, to demonstrate the love of Christ with those in need and to live the gospel of Christ every day of my life.

Wouldn't it be perfect to honor one of God's flowers by sharing the love of Jesus with a homeless person today, or showing kindness to a street kid, or reaching out to a battered mother, or sharing the gospel with someone in jail? If you have two working hands and two working feet, nothing should keep you from joining Danny and Meredith at Trinity on April 14th!

I found a poem that expresses the essense of aunt Wanda's life far better than I could. Read it and let it bless you today.


THE FLOWER
George Herbert

How Fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean
Are thy returns! ev’n as the flowers in spring;
To which, besides their own demean,
The late-past frosts tributes of pleasure bring.
Grief melts away
Like snow in May,
As if there were no such cold thing.

Who would have thought my shrivel’d heart
Could have recover’d greennesse? It was gone
Quite under ground; as flowers depart
To see their mother-root, when they have blown;
Where they together
All the hard weather,
Dead to the world, keep house unknown.

These are thy wonders, Lord of power,
Killing and quickning, bringing down to hell
And up to heaven in an houre;
Making a chiming of a passing-bell,
We say amisse,
This or that is:
Thy word is all, if we could spell.

O that I once past changing were;
Fast in thy Paradise, where no flower can wither!
Many a spring I shoot up fair,
Offring at heav’n, growing and groning thither:
Nor doth my flower
Want a spring-showre,
My sinnes and I joining together;

But while I grow to a straight line;
Still upwards bent, as if heav’n were mine own,
Thy anger comes, and I decline:
What frost to that? what pole is not the zone,
Where all things burn,
When thou dost turn,
And the least frown of thine is shown?

And now in age I bud again,
After so many deaths I live and write;
I once more smell the dew and rain,
And relish versing: O my onely light,
It cannot be
That I am he
On whom thy tempests fell all night.

These are thy wonders, Lord of love,
To make us see we are but flowers that glide:
Which when we once can finde and prove,
Thou hast a garden for us, where to bide.
Who would be more,
Swelling through store,
Forfeit their Paradise by their pride.

Trinity Rescue Mission on April 14th

Fellow Christians, please come and help in the feeding of the homeless at Trinity Rescue Mission from 10-1:30 PM. There may be more children at this event, so be prepared to love on some children. If you need more information, please drop a comment with your questions. I'm including some words Bono said in regards to the poor....
"A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing....

And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.

Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.
And that is what He’s calling us to do."

Thanks for helping guys......

I guess we're going to a U2 concert!

Thanks to my bro Luke for introducing us to a new site:
www.godtube.com
Its just like youtube but its all about Christian topics. One in particular that really got to Daniel was "Bono: A Conversation About Christianity". Check it out. The godtube link will be on link list from now on.

Depth of Mercy

In dealing with the homeless and indigent we often encounter people who have committed terrible sins in their life. Often we are tempted to look at these people and think "well they probably deserve to be where they are now."

I came across an old hymn lyric this morning that reminded me of where my attitude and my focus should be in such instances. I have no standing on which to condemn others, because I of all people am condemned first!

"Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

I have spilt His precious blood,
Trampled on the Son of God,
Filled with pangs unspeakable,
I, who yet am not in hell!

I my Master have denied,
I afresh have crucified,
And profaned His hallowed Name,
Put Him to an open shame.

Whence to me this waste of love?
Ask my Advocate above!
See the cause in Jesus’ face,
Now before the throne of grace.

Jesus, answer from above,
Is not all Thy nature love?
Wilt Thou not the wrong forget,
Permit me to kiss Thy feet?

If I rightly read Thy heart,
If Thou all compassion art,
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Pardon and accept me now.

Jesus speaks, and pleads His blood!
He disarms the wrath of God;
Now my Father’s mercies move,
Justice lingers into love.

Kindled His relentings are,
Me He now delights to spare,
Cries, “How shall I give thee up?”
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Lo! I still walk on the ground:
Lo! an Advocate is found:
“Hasten not to cut Him down,
Let this barren soul alone.”

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.

Pity from Thine eye let fall,
By a look my soul recall;
Now the stone to flesh convert,
Cast a look, and break my heart.

Now incline me to repent,
Let me now my sins lament,
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more."

Charles Wesley
Depth of Mercy

Making people thirsty

In my quiet time this morning I was reading in Donald Grey Barnhouse's commentary on Romans. Read what he had to say about Romans 1:1 and let it bless you today.

"Look out among the people you know as Christians and you will discover two sorts. One rubs you the wrong way, the other fills you with admiration. One of them boasts that he doesn't do this and doesn't do that until you think that failing to do certain things is the whole of his religion. Those with whom he talks want to go out and do the very things he does not do as a sort of reaction against that in his life which is offensive. The other Christian strikes you as being a holy person. You do not expect him to do certain things because you rather feel he is possessed by higher motives. He has been in the presence of the Lord and is so filled with that presence that he draws you to Christ. If you are not this type of Christian, you are not what God wants. You may bleat from morning to evening that you don't get drunk and don't go in for carnal pleasures, but no one is going to listen to you. You have pumped a lot of things out of your life but you have nothing else in their place and even nature abhors a vacuum.

In a Bible class at the University of California campus, a group of students were considering the verse, 'Ye are the salt of the earth.' They were describing the various functions and qualities of salt for seasoning, for preserving, and for other uses. A Chinese girl said, 'Salt makes you thirsty.' Do you make anyone thirsty for Christ? You never will by separating from something. But you will always by separating unto Christ."

FEEDING JESUS, CLOTHING JESUS, ENTERTAINING ANGELS!

How can I be more grateful? God spoke so clearly to me. He showed me again that my efforts are not what He requires. He showed me that my submission was His desire. People, God moved on Saturday. He took a body of believers and in an instant, moved them to care for His children. I had the privilege of seeing about 30 believers mobilized to do God's work for the homeless of downtown Jacksonville. We had people organizing clothes that were going to be given away. We had people cleaning up a children's playground. We had people preparing food. We had a two young men preparing hearts for praise with the Word of God and with music (on a moments notice!). We had men sitting with homeless hearts, desperate for fellowship. We had a body of believers living out our common faith in Jesus Christ. A faith that is followed by good works. And people? We did it ALL to our God! In serving, clothing, feeding each and every homeless man, woman and child there, we did it unto Him! If that doesn't light you up, I don't know what will! I cannot be more grateful to God! It is my prayer that each of you consider the work God did in you that day and share it here, on our blog. Let this be a place where we can share the stories that will build this body of believers into servants of Jesus Christ!

Gathering outside of the Trinity Rescue Mission. Velma, the Volunteer Coordinator took us on a tour of the facilities to show us what they needed done.

Sorting donations in the clothing room.

They get a lot of clothing donations that have to be sorted out for the men, women, and children. When residents see an item they need or want, they have to "pay" for it by doing chores around the mission.

There are many children that come and stay at the mission with their moms. We got to spend some time with them, reading to them and playing with them. We hope to start a tutoring program with the kids there. These UNF students spent the morning reading with them and helping them practice writing. The kids had a blast!

The Praise Machine, "featuring Joe Dowdy"... :)

During the two service times, we got the opportunity to minister to the residents of the mission through song, testimonies, and preaching. It was a beautiful time of worship. In between the men's and women's services, we served lunch to all of the residents.

Our friends from University Baptist jumped in the kitchen and helped prepare and serve the food to the residents of the mission.

Tomorrow!

9:30am - 1:30pm at the Trinity Rescue Mission (see link on the right)

What will we be doing?

*feeding the homeless
*clothing the homeless
*listening to the homeless
*working alongside the homeless
*providing a worship service for the homeless

And serving the Lord Jesus Christ through all of it!

Please come and join us!

Amazing Grace!

Just got back from seeing "Amazing Grace" about the story of William Wilberforce. All I can say is (to quote Danny here) "Woooooowwww!" If you guys want to see a real testimony to the courage that God can give one man to completely change a nation, watch this movie. God used Wilberforce in 18th century England to peacefully end the slave trade and bring about social justice. Also, Albert Finney does a cameo as John Newton with his usual superb acting.

If you like the movie and want to know more about William Wilburforce, check out these links:

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper (free online book)

A Practical View of Christianity by William Wilberforce

God has called us all to live lives of courage through the faith that He has given us. If you think you are not smart enough or strong enough or talented enough to impact your world for Christ, watch this movie!!!

Oh, and thanks Meredith and Danny for letting me post on your blog. For those who don't know I am Meredith's older brother and Danny's less-talented-but-much-sexier brother-in-law!!! ;)

The Vision

Last night, the pastor presented his vision for the church. The Lord is moving! I feel as if fresh air has been let into a stuffy room. My heart is renewed today as I marvel at all of the opportunities we have to serve the Lord, especially through serving others.
We've all heard the old adage: If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.
Today I read in James 2:
If a brother of sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for they body, what does it profit?
Daniel and I had some exciting conversation last night as we discussed not only what God is doing at FBC but also, what He is doing in our own lives. We were discussing the homeless ministry and how we are coming alongside the Trinity Rescue Mission to assist them in what they are already doing, rather than starting a new program from scratch at FBC (which is an understandable viewpoint). The concern of "competing with" Trinity rather than cooperating together was stated (which, again, we completely understand). But Daniel said, "Wouldn't it be great if we as Christians competed with the government in helping people?!" After all, the charge was given to Christians to feed the poor and take care of the widows. Somewhere along the line, we (as a nation and as believers) have developed the idea that it is the government's responsibility to care for the poor. Wouldn't that be awesome, if the church as a whole (not just FBC) took on the welfare system?! What if the church was so open to helping those who need it, that the number of people on welfare in this city started to drop drastically. We could minister to people, witness to them, and disciple them. Imagine what that would do for their life!
We think it is totally possible! GOD is awesome!
As many of you know, we own a house that we keep as a rental property and we are in the process of renting out a second house. I believe the Lord has put it on our heart to put this house into use for the Lord. Please pray with us about this! There are many ways which we can do this. One way that we discussed using the house as a place to help people get off of government assistance. A family could come live there for a year at a reduced rent and would undergo a year-long discipleship type program. They would get the opportunity to advance their education and job skill training, as well as receive financial advice and counseling. They would help in the renovation of the house along the way which will not only teach them to take ownership of something, but it will also allow them to invest in the next family that comes there to stay. In the future (say 5 years) we could sell the house and purchase a multi-unit complex that will allow us to do the same for mulitple families. This whole idea would require the assistance of the church as well as individuals who would be willing to help. This is just an idea, and we are open to God using us in ANY way He sees fit! Please be in prayer with us as we seek God's will for our lives and the ministry he would have us to do.

Remember, we will be at the Trinity Rescue Mission on Saturday, March 3rd from 9:30am - 1:30pm. We are in the process of collecting underwear and socks (new, please!) to donate to them. You can give them directly to either of us, or if you run into one of Daniel's homies at church, you can give it to them as well. Please pray that lives will be touched, believers encouraged, the lost saved, the hungry fed, and the naked clothed. We do it all as unto the LORD!
God bless!

The Call

Mathew 25: 31-46
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

March 3rd at Trinity Rescue Mission

Praise God for wonderful my wonderful wife who started this blog.....on March 3rd FBC's Feeding Jesus will be at the Trinity Rescue Mission. We will need help from 9:30 to about 1:30. We will need help feeding, serving, ministering (one on one), and tutoring. Money would be a big help (ten bucks a person would be great), but more importantly, we want you there. This ministry is in response to our Lord's words in Mathew 25:31-46. It also is in response to our pastor's call to reach out to the lost and needy of Jacksonville. I am so encouraged by the response of our church. This is only the beginning. The opportunities are enormous. Please drop us a line if you would like to join.

Oh yeah, we will also be Clothing Jesus! The homeless usually do not get second-hand underwear....so bring some new underwear and socks! We will be giving these to the Trinity Rescue Mission on the 3rd also! I thought about calling this "Panty Drive 2007"....but you know....

Feeding Jesus

Feeding Jesus... What does that mean?

Matthew 25:40 - The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

As Christians, whatever we do for others, we do so unto Jesus himself. The purpose of this blog will be to share the wonderful things that God is doing in our lives and in our church, and to share the wonderful opportunities He has given us to serve Him. If you would like to share a comment about something positive that God is doing in your life or ministry, please feel free to post them. Keep in mind, all posts are subject to review before posting :P

A little info on me:

Me and Daniel, The Wedding that Rocked the World!

My name is Meredith and I am a member of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL. I am married to the most wonderful man on the planet, Daniel. We just got married in September of 2006. We don't have any children, but we do have a very spastic cat named "Spaz" and a dangerously cute cocker spaniel named "Fletcher". Don't worry, though, we don't dress them up and call them our kids... yet.

Homeless ministry opportunity:
On Saturday, March 3rd, we will be teaming up with the Trinity Rescue Mission here in Jacksonville to begin what will prayerfully become a regular ministry in helping the homeless. All FBC members are invited to come take part, and of course, so are other believers as well! There is a need for clothing, food, and tutoring services. If you have any questions about it, just post them and we'll do our best to get all the information out. As soon as I know more, you'll know more!
God bless