New Beginnings

A FRESH START

The story is told of a man who while reading his morning newspaper was shocked to find his own name listed in the obituary column. He called up the newspaper and was outraged that they had made such a mistake.

The newspaper's explanation did not satisfy the man, so he stormed down to their office and demanded to see the editor. After some time argument, the editor grew frustrated and said, " Cheer up! We’ll put your name in the birth column tomorrow and you can have a fresh start."
You may laugh at a story like that, but wouldn't it be wonderful to just start over again?

Well, I’ve got good news…you CAN have a fresh start!

Yesterday is in the TOMB of time, tomorrow is in the WOMB of time -but NOW is ours.

The past is history, the future is a mystery, but God has given us the present—which is a gift—that’s why it’s called the present.

Penniless or prosperous, paper man or president, whether you wear a Rolex or Timex, we have exactly the same sequence of seconds, the same amount of minutes -and it is a precious commodity.

The month of January is named for Janus the Roman mythological god of the gates, doors, and doorways who is pictured with two faces looking in opposite directions—forward and backward, used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of past to future.

Fittingly, January closes the door on the old year and is the door to the New Year.

2009 is still a blank slate. There are opportunities (and obstacles) ahead of us. We decide which course we are going to take.

The new year is a good time for a FRESH START. Aim higher, reach further, dream bigger, and believe stronger. Start living life in the presence of death. Allow it to temper your soul and purify your priorities. Set your affairs in order and make your life count.

Heb 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

Ephesians 5:15 -16 “ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil..”

How then shall we live?


Think on these things this year, and keep the SON in your eyes!

TIME MACHINE?

“HOW TO CHANGE THE PAST”

Ecclesiastes 3:15 “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

What if there was such thing as a TIME MACHINE?

Putting aside Hollywood's version of time travel for a moment, park the Delorean, & get out of the phone booth, I believe in Time travel! Time travel is real- in fact, we’re all traveling through time right now!

Someone once said "Time is Gods way of keeping everything from happening all at once." We’ve all wished we could re-wind and re-move, but we can’t turn back the hands of time. What’s done is done, and mistakes cannot be unmade.

However , though we can’t change today’s past---we can change tomorrow’s! The past yet created, can still be changed! You can’t change today’s past- but you can change tomorrows past!


If you want to change the past before it begins, follow these three simple steps:


I. MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL OF THE PRESENT


The Bible says “Redeem the time” -spend it wisely. As we age we begin to comprehend the brevity of time , and wish we hadn’t wasted so much of it.

Ecclesiaste 12:1 tells us “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh”

Don’t wait or procrastinate. Investigate, appropriate, and then accelerate! Change tomorrow ……today!



II.NEUTRALIZE THE PROBLEMS OF THE PREVIOUS

Sometimes the pasT can be a PEST! the past can be a poison, a prison-and put people in bondage to before!



Don’t linger in the past, don’t languish over the past. Don’t live in the past, t learn from it!

Change yesterdays past into a teacher instead of a torturer, and tomorrows past into a blessing instead of a burden!!!


Lastly,
III. ENERGIZE A PLAN FULL OF PROMISE

The greatest truth won’t work—if we wont work! We need kinetic Christianity, active and aggressive.

Instead of feaing the future, we should face it with fervor and do today what we’ll be glad we did tomorrow!

The Apostle Paul said in Phil 3:13-14 "… Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before…I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus".


You can CHANGE the PAST before it begins!


…think on these things, and remember to keep the SON in your eyes!

COINCIDENCE?

JUST A COINCIDENCE?

A Coincidence is “the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection.” The word is derived from the Latin co- ("in", "with", "together") and incidere ("to fall on"). Many things in life are strange and interesting coincidences.

Just take the coincidence of the similarities between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. Both wives lost their children while living in the White House. Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both were shot in the head. Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. Both were assassinated by Southerners. Both were succeeded by Southerners. Both successors were named Johnson. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy was born in 1939. Both assassins were known by their three names. Both names comprise fifteen letters. Booth ran from a theater and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater. Both were assassinated before their trials. And that’s only a partial list!

Yes, there are some strange coincidences in life. But divine providence is altogether different. God may provide for a need or a meeting in a way that seems mysterious to us, and is sometimes contributed to “coincidence” but it is all in His plan.

Take for instance the story of “The Church of Providence.” In 1874 in Swana Quarter, NC a group of people wanted a certain piece of ground on which to build a church. But no matter how hard they negotiated, the owner would not sell. Finally they had to settle for another piece of ground where they built their church. Two years later, there was a great storm and the area flooded. As the raging waters neared the church, they lifted the building off it's foundation and it literally began to float away. After the storm was over the people of the area were amazed that on this day, Sept. 16, 1876, God had providentially done what man was unable to do. He moved the church across town and sat the church square on the piece of property the church members had originally bargained for!

The owner of the land could not deny the hand of God in the matter and gave the people the piece of property they so badly wanted. The church was renamed "The Church of Providence," and can be still be seen by those who visit the town.

The next time you think an act is just a coincidence, maybe you should ask yourself, “Is God at work here?” Is COINCIDENCE…or PROVIDENCE? (Jeremiah 29:11)

Think on these things…..and remember, to keep the SON in your eyes!

Revival

Fellowship Baptist Church is having
REVIVAL
Sunday March 1st through Wednesday March 4th
with
Evangelist Andy Williams
from Santa Claus , Georgia

Sunday Services are at 11 AM and 6 PM, Monday through Tuesday at 7:30 PM

Nursery is provided and everyone is invited.
For more information call Pastor John M. Keeter at (252)-792-7395
or visit the Church website www.fellowshipbaptistwilliamston.com

“Check The Facts!”

A group of women from a local Church wanted to get together on a regular basis, and socialize.

It was one ladies turn to be host. She wanted to outdo all the others.

She decided to have mushroom-smothered steak. However, knowing that mushrooms are expensive, she changed her mind. Then her husband said, “Why don't you go down in the pasture and pick some of those mushrooms?” She said, “No, some wild mushrooms are poison.”

He said, “Well, I see animals eating them and they're OK.” So she decided to give it a try. She picked the mushrooms -- washed, sliced, and diced them for her smothered steak.

Then she went out on the back porch and gave Ol' Spot (the yard dog) a double handful just in case. Ol' Spot ate every bite.

All morning long, she watched Ol' Spot and the wild mushrooms didn't seem to affect him, so she decided to use them.

That afternoon husband and Ol’ Spot, not wanting to be the only two males around, decided to go for a walk.

The meal was a great success. After everyone had finished eating, they relaxed, socialized, and sat around and talked.

About that time, her husband called from his cell phone and said, “I hate to tell you this, but ........Ol' Spot just died.'

At this news, she went into hysterics. She hung up, called the doctor and told him what had happened. The doctor said, “ I think we can take care of it. I‘ll call an ambulance and be there as quick as possible to pump out every ones stomach. “

Soon they could hear the siren as the ambulance was coming down the road. The EMTs and the doctor had their suitcases, syringes and a stomach pump.

One by one, they took each person and pumped out their stomach.

After it was all over, they sat around moaning and groaning.

About this time, the hosts husband walked in and said, “You know, I've been thinking...that fellow that ran over Ol' Spot never even stopped.”


Always check the facts!

How often we run ahead without all the information we need and regret it later. We do this also with Bibles truths.

The Bible says 2 Tim 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

We are not to just “Take somebody’s word for it” but we are to check and see for sure what the scriptures say for themselves!

We should be as the Bereans of old. They were a group of believers who the Apostle Luke said they “…searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

Do you know what you believe and why you believe it? If not…then you need to open your Bible and….check the facts!

Think on this, and remember to keep the SON in your eyes!

THANK GOD I’M NOT A TURKEY

When asked to write a school composition entitled, "What I'm most thankful for on Thanksgiving," a student wrote, "I am most thankful that I'm not a turkey!"

I agree! In my opinion, only a turkey WOULDN'T like Thanksgiving!

Sadly for some, Thanksgiving has become Football, Family, & Food – not gratitude to God. Some folks even go so far as to refer to the holiday itself as “TURKEY DAY.” :-(

However today is much more than a holiday celebration, it is a heart condition!

LiteralLy and figuratively I thank God I’m not a turkey!

But I do want to talk turkey in this article.


By definition A turkey is one of a quite few things….
1.) A fowl a particular North American Bird.

Christopher Columbus thought what he discovered was connected to India, and believed the bird he discovered (the turkey) was a type of peacock. He therefore called it 'tuka,' which is 'peacock' in Indian.

It has become the staple of Thanksgiving dinner and I personally look forward to Gooble Gooble-ing some this afternoon!

Also, Turkey is …..
2.) A far away land a country in Western Africa with a rich history.

Another definition of Turkey is theatre jargon for …..

3.) A failure or a flop, of a theatrical production .

Back in the 1800,s during the Thanksgiving holiday season , many third rate production plays were released quickly, put together hastily, to make a quick profit and closed after the first weekend because they were inferior and unsuccessful.

And yet another definition of Turkey is …..

4.) A fINE TRIO of strikes in bowling. Three consecutive strikes are called a “turkey”.

Why? Because during the Great Depression, at Thanksgiving the bowling proprietors would present a live turkey to people who scored three strikes in a row. Since “thirty” sounds like Turkey the term has carried over ever since.


But of course I am referring to what has interestingly become the most common use to the word outside of the bird itself, and that is…..
5.) A foolish person used in a derogatory sense to describe someone who is lacking in either intelligence and/or in character.

Specifically in relation to a lack of appreciation, the biggest turkeys in America today sit AT the table instead of ON it!


Don’t be a turkey today. Give God gratitude for all He gives us….. family, freedom, food and most of all, the forgiveness God grants through the cross.


Today, THANK on these things….and keep the SON in your eyes!!!!




KJV Pastor John M. Keeter
1611 FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH Williamston, NC
____ http://fellowshipbaptistwilliamston.com/

The Value of A Soul

If I were to ask you what your most precious possession is- I wonder what you would answer? Family? Finances? Physical health? Some trivial treasure?

Jesus says your soul is worth more than this whole wide world and everything in it. He asked a rhetorical question in Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

All the wealth in the world all put together- are not worth one single solitary soul!

But what is the soul?

Ancient Greeks sometimes referred to the soul as psyche (as in modern English psychology). Aristotle's works in Latin used the word anima (as in animated), which also means "breath".
Likewise, the Biblical Hebrew word for 'soul' is nefesh, meaning life, or vital breath.

The Bible says Genesis 2:6 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth. And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living SOUL."

The crowning work of Creation was not an accident of evolution-God wasn’t monkey around when he made man! What set us apart is our God given soul. It is who we are.

You can’t find it with a cat scan or measure it with an MRI, you cant reach it with a needle or a knife....but it is just as real as other invisible things such as thoughts and TV waves…and much more important .

Jesus says if you could have every thing you could get your hands on, unlimited riches and resources, at the expense of your self- you soul-it wouldn’t be worth it. Earthly things will rust and rot away….while the soul remains.

1 John 2:16-17 tells us “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”


Charlemagne the Great was the wealthy, mighty emperor of France. The story is told that when archaeologists entered his tomb they saw treasures that had been buried with him, but found Charlemagne placed sitting on a throne, a crown placed on his head.
When he was discovered, the crown had slipped down around his skull and in his lap was a Bible. It was opened and a bony finger was pointed to Mark 8:36.

Charlemagne knew what we need to know. Even if you gain the whole world, as he almost did, you can’t keep it.

Jesus also said in Mathew 10:39 "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

Martyred Missionary Jim Elliott said "He is no fool who is willing to give up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."


From the lips of our Lord this question is being asked of you! Don’t be a loser. Don’t sell out your soul for anything. It isn’t worth it, and if I were you- I wouldn’t miss heaven for the world!!!


Think on this, and keep the SON in your eyes!!!


KJV Pastor John M. Keeter

1611 FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH Williamston, NC
____ http://fellowshipbaptistwilliamston.com/
2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new.” =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-