12.19.2006 - Some say that when God created man He said, “I can do better” and He created woman! But when God created man, He made him in absolute perfection. Something happened to man though — man became lower than the angels! What happened to God’s perfect creation?
The story is told of a French sea captain walking at low tide. He tripped and was caught in a great chain. He could not get free and swelling set in.
He cried out to some fishermen, but they could not lift the chain. A blacksmith was called, but he could not cut beneath the rising water. A surgeon was called, but the captain would not let him cut his leg. Helplessly they all watched as he drowned!
What a perfect picture of our world — mankind is trapped with no one to set him free, and that’s what made Christmas a necessity!
In the Garden of Eden mankind was plunged into sinful weakness. God had spoken to Adam and Eve and told them, “the day you eat thereof ye shall die”. Until they disobeyed there was no dearth, no demise and certainly no death.
Now they are separated from God and the only thing that could bring a righteous God and a sinful couple together was a sacrifice.
That’s the story of Christmas. Jesus came to undo all that had been done by sin. The lovely babe in Bethlehem, would ultimately die for us upon the cross. As the prophet Isaiah said, “By his stripes we are healed!”
When bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor unexpectedly, President Roosevelt declared war with these famous words, “This is a day which will live in infamy.” Another day that will forever be remembered was the day God declared war on all that the arsenal of Satan had done — the day Jesus was born.
It was imperative that Jesus became a man — angels couldn’t die for us. Jesus, the virgin-born Son of God died for our sins. The Saviour’s birth in Bethlehem was the beginning of our salvation. As the songwriter put it, “Second Adam, from above, reinstates us in thy love.”
This Christmas let’s all be mindful that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year because of Immanuel (God with us). “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
12.12.2006 - In Psalms 130:6, King David wrote, “My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.”
He knew that long before morning would come, the presence of the Lord was there with him.
In many a dark hour, we think that if we can just hold on until morning, everything will be all right.
However, the psalmist tells of God in Chapter 139, “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
He is there in the night, He is there when a day seems as dark as night.
You have His word on it.
One poet put it this way:
In the night watches all troubles are huge
It seems we’ll sure drown ’neath the horrid deluge
But if we’ll remember our Father is there,
Who never sleeps, or is burdened with care,
Our heart can quit racing
Our thoughts calm their pacing
’Til morning light lifts the gloom of despair.
Yes, the morning will come,
Just as sure as the sun
Knows the way around the earth;
And life will move on
Past the pro and the con,
Ever to give hope a new birth.
So in the night watches when all seems so black,
When all of life throws you flat on your back,
Cry out to your Father, don’t hold it all in.
He’s the light in the darkness
And you matter to Him.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
12.05.2006 - Life is rough and it’s getting rougher every day.
The reason is clear. We are all living under a curse.
What is wrong with the world we live in? Why do we need soil conservation? It’s because, since Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God has cursed the land.
You see this curse as you look at nature. Ecology is on the minds of many these days. I read bumper stickers that say, “Fight Pollution, Don’t Breathe” and “The Dead Sea is Alive and Living in Michigan.”
What does all this mean? There seems to be a shortage of everything except filth.
Darwin called it the survival of the fittest. When Adam sinned, all of creation fell. The animals, plant kingdom, the earth and soil, as well as man, took a plunge down. And it is all the result of sin.
That is the reason man needed a Saviour. He was doomed. Mankind isn’t getting more godly, but rather more godless.
Man’s hope is Jesus! Only He can undo the curse that man has brought upon himself. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The Saviour we look at in the manger this Christmas season is the Living God in the flesh we can look to for salvation any day of the year!
Our hope of Heaven is not anything on this earth, but rather it is Jesus. Trust Him today.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
11.28.2006 - There’s a special feeling in the air at this time of the year.
It’s a special celebration of family, friends and a joy as we remember the birth of the only Savior of the world, Jesus.
Christmas time is a time of hustle and bustle, I never recall the stores preparing for Christmas as early as this year. Even before September was over, lights were up and merchandise was out.
It won’t be long when the last minute’s things will pressure us all.
They now say that doctors have prescribed a tranquilizer so strong that a man can shop all day with his wife and still come home with a smile.
However, with all the prodding and pushing to get us ready for Christmas, are we really prepared?
When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem, the Bible says there was no room for them in the inn. More than 2,000 years ago, there was no room, and it’s much the same today.
There is no room in government for Jesus. Isaiah said the government would be upon his shoulders. Much ado is made if a city places a manger scene on the steps. We are so afraid we’re going to offend someone of another religion, we forget about offending Christians by removing Christ from Christmas.
There is no room for Jesus in education.
There is room for humanism, there is room for Bible criticism, there is room for evolution, but not for the Christ.
Sad, but true, there is not much room for Jesus in religion. Often our churches will preach a social gospel.
Our pulpits need to lift up the Lord Jesus especially this time of year. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is pictured as One standing outside of the church, knocking on the door to come in.
Even at Christmas time, there is no room for Jesus.
Christmas parties will be held where drunkenness will prevail.
The breweries will make more money at this time of year than any other.
One woman saw a nativity scene in a store window and said, “Imagine that — even the church is trying to horn in on Christmas!”
The good news is, there was room at the cross! “Born to die upon Calvary” is the story of Christmas. As the apostle said, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
Now that “Black Friday” is over and the season is beginning, why not sit down and read the Christmas story and prepare your heart for Jesus.
Make room for Him.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
11.21.2006 - When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they hid from God. In the evening God called, but no answer was heard. Finally they confessed to God the reason for their hiding — they were ashamed! Their disobedience caused their shame and they realized a wrong had been done.
Americans are upset over many of the problems in our nation. While there are answers to society’s problems, many won’t find them because they are looking in all the wrong places!
Like Adam and Eve, many feel more comfortable hiding behind a reason (a covering), which makes them feel more secure — one that satisfies their desire not to feel shame for their sin. We must get back to teaching a sense of right and wrong. What happened in the Garden of Eden is what is happening today — disobedience to God or, in other words, sin!
Rather than uplift things like the liquor and tobacco industry, the TV personality having children out of wedlock, the liberal lobby advocating gay marriage and homosexuality in the military, let’s call sin what it really is — a willful disobedience of God’s written words, the Bible! Why was it ever removed from our schools? How can we instill a sense of right and wrong without it?
People need direction. Let’s give it to them! Let’s show them the truths of the Bible and live it before them! Then, and only then, will we see some real answers to life’s problems!
Although He already knew what they had done, God made Adam and Eve confess to Him what had happened. They were required to come to a place of agreement with God that their actions were sinful.
It’s time that America started back on the road to that place of agreement with God!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
11.14.2006 - On Sept. 21, 1862, President Abrahan Lincoln summoned his Cabinet to the White House for a special session.
Secretary of War Stanton later wrote: “The President was reading a book and hardly noticed me as I came in. Finally he turned to us and said, ‘Gentlemen, did you ever read anything of Artemus Ward? Let me read a chapter that is very funny.”
Lincoln then read aloud something by humorist Ward entitled, “A High Handed Outrage at Utica.” Furious at what he regarded as “buffoonery” on Lincoln’s part, Stanton almost got up and left, but Lincoln read on until the end of the piece then laughed heartily. Everyone else was silent.
“Gentlemen,” said Lincoln disappointedly, “Why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die, and you need this medicine as much as I do.”
Then he reached into his tall hat on the table, took out a paper and said, “I have called you here upon very important business. I have prepared a little paper of much significance. I have said nothing to anyone, but I have made a promise to myself — and to my Maker. I am now going to fulfill that promise.”
He read in a clear voice, “On the 1st of January in the year of our Lord 1863, all persons then held as slaves in any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, and thenceforth, and forever, free.”
Stanton was overwhelmed.
He got up, took Lincoln’s hand, and said, “Mr. President, if reading a chapter of Artemus Ward is a prelude to such a deed as this, the book should be filed among the archives of the nation and the author canonized!”
At noon on Jan. 1 1863, the final Proclamation was taken to Lincoln.
As it lay before him he twice picked up his pen and then put it down.
Turning to Secretary of State Seward he said, “I have been shaking hands since 9 o’clock this morning and my right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name goes down in history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it, but if my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, ‘he hesitated’.”
He then took up the pen again and slowly and firmly wrote, “Abraham Lincoln”.
Some time later Lincoln told Francis B. Carpenter, the artist who painted a picture commemorating the event, that he regarded the Emancipation Proclamation as “the central act of my administration and the great event of the nineteenth century.”
When Colonel McKaye of New York reported that he had found enormous affection for Lincoln among freedmen on the coast of North Carolina, the President was deeply moved.
“It is a momentous thing” he told McKaye, “to be the instrument, under Providence, of the liberation of a race.”
Election Day is over, now we get down to the business at hand. I’m sure many of us feel we got spanked around.
However, let’s remember the wonderful privilege of being a free people. Elections, like leaders, come and go.
God remains the same! Thank Him for the wonderful privilege we have of living in this God-blessed land of freedom.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
11.07.2006 - Election Day is upon us once again and I am reminded of the privilege and responsibility we have as Americans.
What a wonderful freedom is afforded to each of us in this blessed land.
I often hear or read where some do not think their vote makes a difference.
However, it does.
Many elections, past and present, have been won or lost by a handful of votes. I have tried over the years to be faithful in this area.
Also, I have tried to support those who have been in office.
Many times I have been tempted to criticize this President or that one, but have been reminded that it was God that placed them there.
Romans 13 tells us that the powers that be are ordained of God.
Seldom before have we seen so much criticism of an American President as we see now concerning our president, George W. Bush.
Rather than point fingers and find fault, we are commanded to pray for him.
Personally, I am thankful for him. I feel his policies have been right on the line.
Back five years, after 9/11, just about everyone wanted to go to Iraq.
Now, after the fact, many want to bail.
Had this liberal mindset been around years ago we would have allowed Hitler and Tojo to have at it!
We are at war with terrorism, like it or not, because they threaten our very way of life.
It’s time we were united, not divided!
We must be involved, “in the know”, and be people of spiritual commitment.
Let’s support our President — it’s not time to be faint of heart, it’s time to be salt and light.
Vote — but most of all, thank God for the privilege.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
10.31.2006 - The history of the children of Israel can be traced through sin, judgement, repentance and restoration.
As Moses came down from the mount with God’s Law, he saw that the people below had failed God miserably in his absence.
Because of their sin, God said that He would not go with them into the promised land, rather He would send an angel (Exodus 33:2). Moses pleaded with God for He Himself to go with them and, finally, God promised that He would (see verse 14).
All through the land of Canaan, as God’s people met their enemies, the thing that was different about them was that the presence of God was with them.
When other nations saw them, they knew that God was with them.
I’m sure that God has been very close to losing patience with America, with us as a people.
Over and over again God has blessed us and shown Himself faithful to us.
However, in the midst of His faithfulness, we have ignored Him. One thing is for certain — if we are going to succeed we need God Himself to be with us.
Throughout all of our storied past, the thing that has separated us from other nations is that God has been with us!
From George Washington and a small band of rag-tag soldiers to the beaches of Iwo Jima, to the Battle of the Bulge, without God’s presence we would have never survived to this point in our history.
If it wasn’t for God, where would we be? It is good for us to see where we have been and to realize wherein our greatness lies.
May we as Americans continue to pray for and seek God’s presence for a future filled with victory and greatness.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
10.24.2006 - Our most important assignment is to find God’s direction for life. Serving God is to be our highest goal. All else should be subservient to that. Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Many people live their lives on the run from God. They run from place to place, church to church, relationship to relationship, job to job, friendship to friendship, never following God’s direction. It’s one thing to miss God’s direction because of ignorance — but it’s quite another thing to know God’s direction and refuse to do it.
The Book of Jonah is a good example of this. Jonah’s problem was that he did not want to follow God’s direction! God had made it clear that Jonah was to preach in Ninevah. It was a tough assignment because this capital of Assyria was a wicked place. So Jonah took off on the run. He bought a ticket to a distant city and boarded a ship.
All seemed to be going well but, once at sea, a storm arose and Jonah was only too aware that he was the center of it! Jonah learned a lesson we all need to learn — you can’t run from God! Young David wrote in Psalm 139, “Whither shall I flee from they presence?” Nowhere! There is no place that God is not there!
Why not find God’s direction for your life today? Anything in addition to that is not important. Anyone can get back on course simply by following God’s directives. What is true for the individual is also true for the nation. Our problems are self-induced. We are constantly polling to find out what people think. What about what God thinks? It is He that hath made us and not we ourselves! God’s direction – that should be our goal. Follow it and success will follow you!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
10.17.2006 - Since Cain slew his brother Abel, man has understood the tragedy of a godless life.
Cain rejected God’s way of sacrifice and he began a lifestyle going away from God. I am sure that day in the field, as Cain was about to slay his brother, he looked in every direction to be sure no one could see him.
No one on earth saw his deed, but God in Heaven did!
He had no idea he had been found out. He thought his sin was hidden — that he’d committed the perfect crime.
When God enquired as to the whereabouts of Abel, Cain replied “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
However, there is no wrong that God does not see.
Cain had forgotten that disobedience to God’s word will bring down the judgment of God, and he spent his life as a vagabond on the earth because he never repented of his error.
But he was made to realize the tragedy of his sin and that, as long as he still lived, his brother’s blood cried out for vengeance.
Whenever a nation or individual disobeys God, and fails to see his other error, it causes restlessness in the heart.
Restless people today seek contentment through many different thrills, not knowing that their problem is a spiritual one.
We must see the error of our ways and God will be quick to forgive. To hide our sin or blame it on someone else will only cause more problems.
We Americans must look to God and admit that we have drifted away.
We must tell God what He already knows — that we have sinned! When we do that God can, and will, help us.
Until then, there will always be restlessness in the soul of this nation.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
10.10.2006 - In 1863, the United States was less than 100 years old. It faced its greatest crisis. Armies from the north and south clashed across the Potomac from Washington D.C. and also in the southwest near Chattanooga, Tenn.
The Senate called upon President Lincoln to set aside a national day of “Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer.”
Lincoln agreed and declared April 30th as the day.
He said, “It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
“ ... We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God.”
If any people has been blessed it’s the people of the United States of America. We have certainly been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have grown numerically and we have become a world power, but have we forgotten God’s hand in all this? He has preserved us in peace and, at times in war, and has prospered us, so surely our cup runneth over.
It is imperative that we not become intoxicated with our own success. Self sufficiency is the enemy of mankind. We must, like the psalmist and like President Lincoln, look to the Lord that made heaven and earth. He it is that hath made us and not we ourselves.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
10.03.2006In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his disciples and a small group of followers that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
It is interesting to note to whom our Lord was speaking when He said, “Ye are the light of the world.”
It was not to the imperialistic power of the mighty Roman Empire, nor was it to the hedonistic philosophers in Greece — it was to a small band of followers that were known as Christians.
These humble Galileans would be the ones that would spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the known world.
Just a few fishermen but, with the message of Jesus in their hearts, it would soon be said of them, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither.”
Salt and light – that’s what the followers of Jesus are to be in this world.
When salt is applied it goes inwards and disappears.
Light comes from within and is always seen.
Salt speaks of character, light speaks of testimony.
Jesus was telling his followers that they were to penetrate society and illuminate it.
Our society has been called the age of enlightenment because many technological advances have been made in recent decades.
We have cars that are run by computers, telephones we can carry around, the ability to watch news from anywhere in the world as it actually develops, and a multitude of other wonderful things.
Everyone has an idea of how we can better ourselves.
For centuries man has been trying to invent ways to make his world a little brighter.
Yet the darkness of godlessness, atheism, permissiveness and sin is still creeping into our lives.
The answer is found in the child of God.
We need to be all that we can be to help shed God’s light upon society.
Do not be the kind of Christian who knows what to do but fails to do it!
Do not hide what you are or ‘whose’ you are.
Instead, let your light shine and glow for the Lord Jesus Christ wherever you are.
Jesus tells us, just as clearly as He told those Galileans, “Ye are the light of the world; ye are the salt of the earth.”
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
9.26.2006 - God told the ancient Jews in Exodus 23:2, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.”
What pertinent advice this still is. Today, many are kicking over the traces and doing their own thing. Never in the history of our country has it been so easy to do evil and still be respected.
If you want to smoke some dope, cheat or use God’s name in vain, you will not be made to feel guilty by many of your peers because many of them will be doing the same thing! Consequently, one of the most important factors our society has had in keeping good standards is just about gone — that of peer pressure.
As a Christian nation, we have plenty of incentives not to follow an evil multitude. None of us are perfect, and so we all need to be more concerned about our own lives than about the lives of others.
We need to be constantly aware of just how easy it is to jump on that toboggan slide for a downward trip. It may seem that everybody is doing just that and you may feel pressure to follow suit. You may not think it will make any difference whether or not you hold on to your standards.
If you try, you may be ostracized, intimidated, or made to feel like the ‘fifth wheel’ — but try you must because it is essential that the Christians among us be salt and light in our society.
Salt purifies and cleanses. Light illuminates the evil that likes to hide itself in dark places. Are you salt and light to those around you, or are you content to follow a multitude to do evil?
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
9.19.2006 - The nation of Israel had been wandering for some years, dreaming of the day when they would reach the Promised Land.
When they were close, the Lord spoke to Moses and instructed him to send 12 men, one from each tribe, to spy out this new land. For 40 days these men spied out the land and gleaned all the information they could. When they returned home they all described the Promised Land as a land flowing with milk and honey, and they brought back glowing reports of its beauty.
However, the 12 men were divided on whether the Israelites could conquer this land. The majority — 10 of them — were filled with negative sentiments about this.
They spoke of the cities, walled and very great, and they reported it would be impossible to overcome these people and capture the land.
Everything they said was negative; they wanted to turn back. The minority report was delivered by the remaining two men, Caleb and Joshua.
They were pretty positive about it, they said, “Let us go up at once and possess this land.”
The difference in these two groups was as great as the difference between positive and negative, the difference between faith and doubt and, ultimately, the difference between life and death.
The negative majority perished in the wilderness while Caleb and Joshua went on to possess the land that God had promised them.
Today, many gainsayers talk of our great nation as a thing of the past. Sure, we have enjoyed a blessed and storied past, but it’s not over — not by a long shot! As long as we are positive and look to our God for guidancae, then our future is as bright as the promises of God Himself.
Our attitudes can make a difference! Blessed is the nation whose Lord is God!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
9.12.2006 - In the early days of history the human race began to build a Tower of Babel.
It was man’s idea of making a name for himself. God thwarted their efforts though, and the building was halted.
Throughout the centuries, every time someone has risen up and tried to make a name for himself, God has thwarted the efforts and stopped them.
Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler and countless others have tried to rise up and claim this globe. New societies, new cultures, new empires -— all crashed in confusion. Egypt leaves its pyramids, Rome its Colosseum, Greece its Parthenon — all relics and ruins, proving that the world and its greatness belong to the eternal God, and not to temporal man.
Today, man boasts that he is his own god! Man boasts of scientific achievements, and we see the hope of a longer and better life dependent upon man’s inventive genius.
In reality though, it is again only man trying to make a name for himself!
We tremble at the horrors of nuclear destruction. We marvel at the rapid advances in computer technology. We are sickened at the spread of disease, famine and war. We look for answers to crime, health care and the onslaught of the confusion society seems to be in.
We should all study the Book of Revelation, which describes to us what the period of time known as the Apocalypse (at the end of time) will be like when God shows this world that it belongs to Him.
As the old-time hymn says, “This is my Father’s world!”, and Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”
To our puzzle, He is the missing piece. At the end of life all that will matter is this — have you given your life to Him, or have you only tried to make a name for yourself?
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
9.05.2006 - The privileges we enjoy should make us stop and think. Is this freedom and abundance ours merely by chance?
If God has indeed blessed America, why? What clues can be found to assure us of divine intervention in our future?
The Bible, as always, holds the answers. In Psalm 33:12 it says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” Psalm 127:1 says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it,” and Psalm 128:2 says, “For thou shalt eat the labour of thy hands; happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee”.
I love to listen to that great hymn, “America the Beautiful” because it reminds me of how plentiful this land is. Katherine Lee Bates stood atop Pike’s Peak, scanned the scene before her, and wrote of the purple mountain majesties and amber waves of grain. It is concluded in the song that it is all because God has ‘shed His grace on thee’. What a wonderful privilege we have to live in the land of plenty!
Other nations have been blessed, but not like the United States.
Lyman Abbott once said, “A nation is made great, not by its fruitful acres but by the men who cultivate them, not by its great forests but by the men who use them, not by its mines but by the men who built and run them”.
America was a great land when Columbus discovered it, but Americans have made it a great nation.
As we celebrate Labor Day, let’s bow our heads and lift our hearts to God for those who labor to make this nation the greatest on earth.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
8.29.2006 - The book of Genesis has been called the seed-plot of the Bible because of the many truths and doctrines which are taught in this book.
One great doctrine in Genesis is that of salvation. Salvation is the great theme of the entire Bible — it is the story of how sinners can get to Heaven. When we die, we don’t die rich or poor, cultured or uncultured. When we die, we die either saved or lost.
Genesis Chapter 7 records the story of the Ark. Over and over in this chapter we see the words, “into the ark.” Salvation for Noah and his family was found by being in the ark. This has the same application as the New Testament phrase, “in Christ.”
Salvation is viewed from two perspectives — divine initiative and human response.
Salvation is from God! Someone once said, “God thought it, Jesus bought it, the Holy Spirit wrought it, the devil fought it, and I caught it!” The first invitation in the Bible was God’s offer to Noah to come into the ark — the initiative came from God, not from man.
More than 600 times, God offers man the chance to come unto Him. Salvation is of God! It is not denominational and it wasn’t devised by the hand of man. It is God’s divine initiative for all people to be saved!
Then there is human response. The Bible says that Noah and his family responded and went into the ark. All of us have been given a will. We are free to choose our direction. God will not make us choose salvation. It is entirely up to us!
But, when the waters came from above and the fountains of the deep opened up, Noah was glad that he had accepted God’s plan. The Bible describes this flood. It was all-inclusive. No one was allowed to escape!
Friend, all of us must give an account of our lives.
Today is God’s day of salvation. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may never come.
Today is all we have! Tomorrow mercy may be past. Accept God’s provision for your soul — Jesus.
Trust Him today and respond to his initiative — His call — that you may be saved.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
8.22.2006 - In Ephesians Chapter 5, the apostle Paul gave the church at Ephesus the following advice — “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
There is no doubt that we are living in troubled and evil times. Murder, theft, fraud, suicide, slander, abuse and arrogance abound in today’s society. But the Bible clearly states that we, as Christians, need to live carefully and wisely, making the most of every opportunity.
Paul admonishes the Ephesians to be imitators of God. While He was on earth, the Lord Jesus set an example for us in His obedience to the Heavenly Father.
He showed in His life that obedience brings glory to God.
We should have the same yardstick for our lives. We are to bring glory to God — that’s why we’re here!
Jesus was careful to make the most of every opportunity in his life. Opportunities for good come into our lives too, and we must be careful to recognize and take advantage of them, because in these evil days, there isn’t much godliness shown anywhere.
Think of all the opportunities we have to bring glory to God!
In our business lives, we can be honest in our dealings, and in our personal lives ,we can be forgiving to those around us.
Take time to see how your life can bring glory to God. Seize the moment and grab the opportunity, for it may never come again.
Are we careful and wise according to the scripture? Do we take the time to bring glory and honor to God?
Think about it — and make your life count for the Lord.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
8.15.2006 - Before Moses died, he declared, “There is none like unto the God ... who rideth upon the heaven in thy help.”
His words help to remind us just how special God is. Our God is there for us in the hour of trouble. Often I hear people say, “He (or she) was always there when I needed them.”
God is always there. He is, as the psalmist said in Psalm 46, “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
He is a God that is sufficient for any need or situation in our life.
It’s interesting to notice as you study the Bible, that it never goes about to prove God’s existence.
William Evans said, “It does not seem to have occurred to any of the writers of either Old or New Testaments to attempt to prove or argue for the existence of God. Everywhere and at all times it is a fact taken for granted.”
The Eternal God Is! Carrie Hammill wrote this poem:
Drop to your knees beside the wide road,
And pick up a stone to turn in your hand.
Now make one like it — seed of the earth —
Then if you succeed, tell me there’s no God.
Take clay and dust, and fashion a child
With wistful brown eyes and breath in its lungs;
Make flesh — warm lips, a brain, and red blood —
Then, if you succeed, tell me there’s no God.
Only the fool declares there is no God. Our God is present in human affairs. He is our refuge! He is involved in every day of life. What He was to Moses and others He will be to us.
The purpose of Calvary was so we could have a personal relationship with the Eternal God, Jesus Christ.
The atheist Voltaire tipped his hat as a funeral procession passed by. A friend commented, “I didn’t know you acknowledged God.” Voltaire exclaimed, “We nod, but we don’t speak.”
Friend, God wants to have a relationship with you. This great Creator of the universe wants you to know Him.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
8.08.2006 - In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, N.C. invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor.
Mr. Graham initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson’s disease. But the city leaders said, “We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.” So he agreed.
After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, “I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time Magazine as the Man of the Century.
Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him, and it wasn’t there either.
The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.”
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said, “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.”
Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”
Having said that, Billy Graham continued, “See the suit I’m wearing? It’s a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I’ve gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon, and one more occasion.
You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I’ll be buried. But when you hear I’m dead, I don’t want you to immediately remember the suit I’m wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am. ... I also know where I am going.”
Many folks today not only have doubts about where they are going when they die, they spend much time and thought finding out who they are! Friend, let me remind you that God knows exactly who you are. He knows every minute detail of your psyche, every thought and intent of your heart. He not only created you for His purpose, he offers you the way to an eternal home.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.”
Jesus is the way — do you know where you are going?
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
8.01.2006 - The biblical account of the three Hebrew children Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in the land of Babylon, is one that has always intrigued me and captivated my imagination.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had erected a huge statue of himself and commanded that all of Babylon worship his image.
These three young men refused to bow and, because of their disobedience, were thrown into the fiery furnace. But in the furnace God walked with them, and they were unharmed.
I have heard it said that Christians are like teabags — you don’t really know their strength until they are in hot water, but we in America need men and women who demonstrate on a daily basis the same strength, honor, integrity and faith these three captives possessed.
We often say things like, “it’s hard to live for God in this generation” — but I have never known a time when it was easy.
Sin has always been on the rise, and society has never been for a Bible-believing Christian.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could so easily have said, “When in Babylon do as the Babylonians do” or “we’d better bow down now so we get a chance to witness later” or “we’ll bow down now but we won’t mean it.” However, they had a settled faith and they withstood the test. Even if God did not rescue them, they were still not going to bow down.
Perhaps today one of our readers is going through a fire, or some trial in their lives.
If so, we need to remember that God walks with us in the fire, just as He does in the sunshine.
Our forefathers were men who knew this and stood the test of affliction — the nation we now have is proof of that.
May God also help us to be true to Him.
In an ever-changing world, may He help us to be unmovable, steadfast and always abounding in the work of the Lord.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
7.25.2006 - As a pastor, I’ve often heard the adage, “Like pastor — like people.” In other words, as a wise man once said — “We do not attract what we want, we attract what we are.”
I have observed that most people’s goals in life involve material or tangible things, but few people seem to realize that the best way to obtain tangible goals is to develop in their personality and character the qualities that will help them achieve those goals.
“We do not attract what we want, we attract what we are”. Truer words were never spoken!
Almost everyone knows what he or she desires. As a professor of mine used to say, “Almost everyone wants to have, few people want to be.”
The people who achieve their tangible goals are those who develop the intangible qualities of character and personality.
They are the people who honestly recognize their personality weaknesses and chart a course to eradicate these weaknesses and develop their strengths.
In other words, they are more interested in being rather than in having.
In this materialistic world, the temptation is to have.
However, God does not measure men by what they have, but by what they are.
Do you recognize your personality weaknesses? Have you asked God to help you chart a course to develop your strengths?
Remember, we do not attract what we want, we attract what we are.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
7.18.2006 -
Desire is the determining factor in most successes or failures.
Many in our country are educated and tuned for success, but they ultimately fail.
The reason is lack of desire.
Long after the infatuation of a project is gone, our desire keeps us going.
It’s the same in any walk of life. When I was a young boy, my baseball coach would say, “We’re as good as they are — the only difference between us is who wants to win the most!”
Our forefathers were men of desire. They had a fire within them to found a republic in this land that would ultimately change the world.
Read the story of where they were from, and all the sacrifices that they made, and you will see that desire was the foundation of those sacrifices.
George Washington could have given up at Valley Forge — he was outnumbered by a superior army — but he had a God given desire to forge ahead.
Today there is much in our nation to depress the true patriot — lack of morals and the horrendous crime rate to name but two.
However, America is our home, and what she will be in twenty years will be determined by the desires that we have today.
To see God and His word exalted, to see strong family values built up and to see a pleasure-craving society put church back on the top of its priority list are all achievable goals, but they will take much more than wishful thinking — they will take desire.
What people desire, they seek after and hunger for.
May we, as our forefathers before us, seek and hunger to have a nation strong, free and exalting God and His word.
May we desire this fervently! May we seek and hunger for it! This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
7.11.2006 - One of the least known of all Bible writers is Agur, who wrote a few verses of the Proverbs.
In these verses he gave his philosophy regarding poverty and riches.
His prayer was that God would give him neither poverty nor riches.
His fear was that if he were poor he might steal and take God’s name in vain.
On the other hand, he feared that if he became rich he would be full and deny the Lord (Proverbs 38:8-9).
History has proven that Agur’s fears were justified.
When people are trapped in poverty they lose hope. Poverty sometimes drives people to theft and to loss of faith in God.
On the other hand, riches often change people. Many who are affluent lose compassion, become very complacent and decadent, and deny the Lord through self-sufficiency. It is easy to deny the Lord through a lack of faith when there are no needs.
Agur’s conclusion was that there are dangers in poverty and dangers in riches and that the best situation in life is somewhere in between. Since most of us fit into this middle category, we can be thankful we don’t face the temptation of either extreme.
Perhaps today you can lift up your heart to God and thank Him for what He has given you because — you know what — you are really better off than you think!
Think about it. ...
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
7.04.2006 - We often ask for God to bless America, but as we look around we must confess that he has blessed America!
What a blessed people we are.
In the summer of 1776 the Second Continental Congress was meeting at the Pennsylvania State House.
Richard Henry Lee stood and read his “Resolved” speech — that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
The die was cast and on June 11th a committee was formed with the express purpose of drafting a document that would formally sever the ties with Great Britain.
On Aug. 2 the Declaration of Independence was signed.
And what a storied history we have enjoyed!
We have a great debt to many, but particularly to our forefathers who, at their own peril, forged our freedom.
From George Washington, kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge, to Lincoln’s statement “without God we cannot succeed.”
From our Star Spangled Banner and our coinage “In God we Trust”, to our American song — Our fathers’ God to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright, with freedom’s holy light.
Protect us by thy might, great God our King.
However, the greatest debt we owe is to God.
God is very interested in us as a nation and in His goodness, He has blessed us.
The poorest people in our nation are rich compared to other nations, but we should always remember that to whom much is given, much shall be required.
God expects us to follow His course for us.
Patrick Henry asked, “why sit we here idle?”
The answer is that we must strive to keep our land bright with freedom’s holy light by doing what is expected of us — we all should find and follow God’s course for our lives.
The answer to our problems is God! Long may He continue to bless America!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
6.27.2006 - Someone has wisely observed that there are only two religions in the world.
First, there is the religion of “do,” which requires that one do something for salvation — although the adherents differ as to what must be done.
Live a good life, join the church, get baptized, keep the Golden Rule, be honest, treat everyone right — and the list goes on and on! The Bible teaches us that the religion of “do” is the false way of works for salvation.
The second religion is the religion of “done.” It requires nothing but faith in Christ for salvation. It holds that Jesus Christ — God Incarnate — paid the price for every person’s sin and died as every person’s substitute.
Thus, accepting Christ as savior is the key to eternal life.
The story of Cornelius illustrates so vividly that a man can do all things right and still be lost. According to the book of Acts, Cornelius was a man of impeccable character. He was sincere and a devout leader in the Roman army. He was a family man, a man of prayer — he even fasted — but according to Acts 11:14, he was lost.
Think of it — he did all those things, all with the right motives, but was still lost! However, God did answer his prayer and saved him when he quit trusting in his works and placed his faith in Christ. In all probability, Cornelius was a better man than you or I. but he still had to be saved in order to get to Heaven.
Have you trusted Christ or are you trusting what you have done for Christ?
The Bible is very plain. John 3:36 says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
6.20.2006 - Proverbs is an interesting book in the Bible. It’s a book consisting of 31 chapters, thereby giving us a daily devotional book with a chapter for every day of the month.
It is a book of pithy maxims that are presented to us in a variety of literary forms. These forms, or sayings, really tell it like it is!
Every culture has proverbs. Some of ours are — “look before you leap,” “a stitch in time saves nine,” “a penny saved is a penny earned.”
A Zulu proverb says “he that walketh into a thunderstorm must put up with hailstones,” and Scandinavians say, “mix grey locks with gold and spoil two heads!”
However, the proverbs of the Bible are more than just sage human sayings.
They are rules for living. They embody the philosophy of Heaven for the benefit of people on earth. One such proverb is 2:20 — “That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.”
The Bible speaks of wicked men and often of good men. A wicked man pleases himself while a good man pleases the Lord. The Bible describes a good man as one whose life is acceptable to the Lord. We often say of certain men, “he’s a good man,” which infers that he lives by the principles of the word of God.
Have you ever given any thought to what your family, co-workers and friends say of you? Perhaps they say that you are a good farmer, or maybe a good businessman, but the greatest that could be said of you is, “he’s a good man.”
Make your life a testimony for the Lord. Strive in your life to be a good man.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
6.13.2006 - At the close of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave his listeners a final appeal.
In Matthew Chapter 7, He warns them about taking the wrong path, or way, in life, saying, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”
Jesus is pointing out that there are two roads one can travel in life, and that we must make the decision for ourselves which road we take.
Life is a series of decisions — the friends we make, who we marry, where we work and where we live, are just a few of them. However, no decision is as important or vital as which road we choose for eternity. The majority of people in our world are on the wrong road.
It is the wide, well-traveled road away from the Kingdom of God. Jesus said of the Kingdom of God, “Few there be that find it.”
Away from God, the road to hell is filled with careless, indifferent people — the ones who live for possessions and pleasures, never even giving a thought to life’s way.
They do not realize that the sinful pleasures of this world are synthetic and artificial or that they are heading towards the wide gate, having traveled down the broad way.
Our Lord describes the road to Heaven as the narrow way. The way to Heaven is the cross. One songwriter put it this way —
“I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There’s no other way but this.
I shall ne’er catch sight of the gates of light,
If the way of the cross I miss.”
Friend, the simple truth is that wherever you are heading is where you will end up.
Do you know where you are heading? Do you ever stop and check which road you are traveling on? A decision to follow Christ on that narrow way is the best choice you can make on which road to travel today.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
When we fully understand the gift of Heaven that Jesus offers, we would assume that the whole world would want it!
However, Jesus said, “Narrow is the way that leads to life everlasting, and few there be that find it.” You see, left to its own devices, our heart can become a jungle of bitterness, hatred, anger and vice — but when tended, our heart can be a garden of love and contentment.
All of us have different conditions in our hearts. There is the unresponsive heart that becomes hardened to all around it. Hardened by godless philosophies and sin, an unresponsive heart is untouched by the seed of the Word of God.
Then there is the impulsive heart that lives purely on emotion. These hearts do, say, live and breathe what they feel, never checking themselves according to the Word of God. There are destructive hearts that give up in time of trouble. Rather than growing closer to God through difficulty, they turn their backs on Him and go further away.
Finally, there are productive hearts — hearts that produce good qualities in life — hearts described by Paul in his letter to the Philippians as, ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus.’
In Proverbs 19:21, wise King Solomon says, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”
Have you tended to your heart? As a garden can be overrun with weed and stifled, so our hearts can be overrun with sin and difficulty. Pay attention to your heart’s condition — keep it fertile and receptive to the seed of God’s Word.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
5.30.2006 - The word ‘patriotism’, like ‘Republic,’ makes one’s heart skip a beat.
The sight of the American flag and the sound of the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ cause an emotional stir in the very heart of an American.
I thank God for the patriots who gave their lives and sacred honor for us to be free.
A Concord, Mass., announcement reads, “Here, once-embattled farmers stood and fired the first shot heard around the world.”
In Arlington Cemetery there rest the bodies of 80,000 patriots who fought in wars to keep our nation free.
On the tomb of the Unknown Soldier we read, “Here rests in honored glory a soldier known only to God.”
We need to rise up as ‘patriots’ and stand proud in our heritage. There is a song that says:
“I’m just a flag waving American,
A citizen I’m really proud to be.
I’m just a flag waving American,
A liberty lover of red, white and blue variety.
I love to sing the Battle Hymn and Yankee Doodle;
I thrill to see Old Glory flying high,
Oh, I’m just a flag waving American,
Who believes there’s no greater land beneath the sky!”
Rise up America — and let’s be proud of who we are, proud of the God we serve, and thankful for the privilege of living in America!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
5.23.2006 - Located in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, is a church called Greyfriar’s Kirk. At the entrance to the church is a statue of a little Skye Terrier named Greyfriar’s Bobby. On the statue is inscribed, “A tribute to the affectionate fidelity of Greyfriar’s Bobby.”
In 1858 this faithful dog followed the remains of his master to Greyfriar’s churchyard, where he was buried.
For the next 14 years, day after day — rain, snow or sunshine — this little dog went to his master’s grave and lay there. When the little dog died, he was buried in the church graveyard, just a few feet from his master’s grave.
The story of Greyfriar’s Bobby is a wonderful story of fidelity.
Greyfriar’s Kirk is also where, in the 1500s, the Covenanters signed a covenant, which stated that they would not allow the king to place his own preachers in the pulpits of the land. The result was the persecution of Scottish believers.
The real story of faithfulness is not Greyfriar’s Bobby, but is engraved on a large marker at one end of the churchyard.
The marker sits on the mass grave of several thousand Christians who were either burned at the stake or hanged for their faith.
The faithfulness of the dog is of utmost interest to those who visit this church, but the faithfulness of the saints — faithful unto death — is the real story of faithfulness at Greyfriar’s Kirk.
May we — regardless of all — be faithful to our Lord!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
5.16.2006
Much is made today of secular education.
Somehow, Americans feel that if you can’t buy your way or spend your way out of trouble by way of social programs, then education is the answer.
Now, don’t misunderstand my premise. I believe wholeheartedly in education. I feel a person must prepare themselves for whatever lies ahead of them. A prepared person is just that — a prepared person!
However, is education alone the answer? I think not!
The first president of Princeton, Matthew Dickinson, declared, “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.” The official motto of Princeton was, ‘Under God’s Power She Flourishes’.Since that time our institutions of learning have certainly changed, but not for the better.
God has not been allowed into our secular learning centers for some time, and the results we have seen from this are catastrophic. Our moral decline has accelerated — the Bible is out — guns and rebellion are in!
Education must be built on the premise of the existence of God. Our forefathers saw to this. The nation we enjoy was forged by men and women who knew God and wanted others to know Him.
Education without God is like a baseball player without a bat. He can fake it, but in reality can’t hit the ball! Our youth are seeking answers. The demands and pressures placed upon them are great and the answers can only be found in the Lord. We are a Christian nation. Nowhere should we be devoid of learning the foundation of all learning — God!
President George Washington wrote, “I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine intervention in their affairs than those of the United States.” How true.
Let’s quit teaching our young people and start educating them in regard to God, where we came from and to where we are heading.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
5.09.2006
There is a philosophy abroad in the land these days that ideas should never be restrained.
The idea is that an idea — any idea, no matter how destructive, vile or dangerous to the common good — has the right to be disseminated anywhere and to anyone.
Based on this premise, little children are taught sex education courses that are totally devoid of any ethical or moral training. College professors are told, and taught, to be unpatriotic.
In fact, professors in many secular universities spew their Marxist ideas and get paid by our tax dollars to do so. Many of our sit-coms are nothing more than filth, with the idea to soften us up to such wickedness. All this in the name of freedom.”
Since the philosophy of secular humanism controls so much of the media and the educational segments of our culture, it may well be that these vile ideas will gain even further public expression. However, as Christians, we live under a higher law — the word of God. God’s word expressly prohibits His children from some areas of knowledge. He does not want you to know everything. God would have us be simple when it comes to evil.
There are many things from which He wants us to refrain.
Proverbs 19:27 advises “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.”
I would urge you to resist becoming used to the “freedoms” of this world. Rather we should strive to become “simple” and see evil for what it really is — evil!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
5.02.2006 - Life is made up of decisions, and it is very important that we make good ones.
Someone once said, “It may be true that there are two sides to every question, but it is also true that there are two sides to a sheet of fly paper and it makes a big difference to the fly which side he chooses!”
John Oxenham wrote:
To every man there openeth a way, and ways, and a way
And the high soul takes the high way
And the low soul gropes the low
And in between on the misty flats
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth
A high way and a low
And every man decideth
The way his soul shall go.
Albert Camus said, “Life is the sum total of all your choices” and Flora Whittlemane said, “The doors we open and close every day decide the lives we live”.
Remember – a successful journey does not depend on which way the wind blows but on the set of the sail!
A courthouse in a mid-western state is so situated that raindrops falling on one side of the roof travel, by way of the Great Lakes, into the Atlantic while drops landing on the opposite side find their way, through the Ohio and Mississippi, to the Gulf. Just a breath of wind, one way or the other, may determines whether a single raindrop will end up in either the Gulf or in the Atlantic!
Even so, one single decision is enough to determine a man’s destiny.
Today, begin a new journey – that of putting the Lord first – and may your decision be a life changing one.
I have sat and talked to people who have made poor decisions and destroyed their careers and lives, so I urge you to heed what the great missionary, Jonathan Edwards, said “Whether others do so or not, I will!”
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
4.25.2006 - In Luke 23:46 we read, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
Sigmund Brouwer writes, “When we think of Jesus on the cross, we often think only of the incredible physical torture His body must have borne. Yet wouldn’t His soul have been even more tortured? His infinite love rejected. On the edge of a chasm between Himself and His Father. Looking down on His weeping mother and heartbroken friends — all for the sake of the people who were crucifying Him. When those whose own souls have been in the deep, black valley of unrelieved anguish look to the man on the cross for peace, they understand what others cannot — there were probably moments when Jesus welcomed the distraction of the nails pounded into His hands.”
O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s room for a look at the Saviour, and life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His Glory and Grace.
Jesus suffered so that we might have a life that is abundant and full. He said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: but I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Jesus suffered so that we might be free. He said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Friend, are you living a life that is full? Has your soul been set free from sin? Come to the cross — the cross where Jesus died for you, and find all that He has promised, and more.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust that it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
4.18.2006 After Christ rose from the dead, many events transpired in a short period of time.
There was his walk on the Emmaus Road with the two disciples, there were Peter and John coming to the empty tomb and finding the linen of their risen Lord, and then that evening Mary meeting Jesus in the garden and acknowledging him as her Lord and Saviour.
Perhaps the most interesting event took place in the upper room after the resurrection.
For the disciples, it was a time filled with fear and dread. They had been accused of stealing away the body of Jesus and were fearful for their lives. In the room that night, Jesus appeared to them saying, “Peace be unto you.” He brought them peace and hope.
However, one disciple was not there — Thomas. After learning that Jesus had come, Thomas said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Thomas had missed the meeting and, instead of a heart full of peace and joy, his heart was filled with doubt and dread.
In each of our lives there are two forces at work — doubt and faith.
Is your life lived full of troubles, fears, anxieties and doubts? The reason is — you missed the meeting! God, in his wisdom, gave us the church to feed our faith.
Many people find plenty of time for everything else except their church.
However, if your faith is going to grow, one of the best ways is through your church. Think of all you miss when you miss just one Sunday — the encouragement of others and the encouragement you give to others — the singing — the message from God’s word — and on and on!
Friend, starve your doubts. Don’t be like Thomas — don’t miss the meeting!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
4.11.2006 - A great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said, “Our lives are but like seconds in the tide of this great time of ours, which is itself but a second in the great duration of eternity” or, as Winston Churchill once confessed in sorrow, “We are only specks of dust that have settled in the night on the map of the world.”
The only thing, which ultimately gives significance to any man, is his relationship with God and how he will finally answer to God.
David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel said, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of Man that thou visitest him?”
The great God of the Universe loves us and seeks to have a relationship with us. From the Garden of Eden, where God walked with man in the cool of the day to the present time, God wants to fellowship with us — mere specks of dust!
Often times we ponder our worth. We question our significance. However, God does not. God loves us and longs to be our Heavenly Father. I once heard a preacher comment that if God had a wallet, your picture would be in it!
How quickly life goes by. It’s a vapor that “appeareth for a little while then vanisheth away”.
However, during the days of our lives, what a privilege it is to fellowship with God. This is our purpose for living. It’s why we exist.
Rick Warren puts it this way, “That God would want me for a close friend is hard to understand, but the Bible says He is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.”
Dear friend, consider your relationship with God. He wants to fellowship with you. Open up your heart and receive Him today. Give your life significance. Receive Christ and know peace.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
4.04.2006 - The Bible says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
In other words, a happy spirit and laughter are good for you.
In his book, “Anatomy of an Illness,” Norman Cousins tells of becoming very ill while in Moscow on business. By the time his plane returned to New York, his temperature was 104 degrees and he was rushed to the hospital. His condition continued to deteriorate until finally, he overheard one of his doctors say to a nurse, “We may be losing Norman”.
As he lay there in the bed, he remembered reading that positive thoughts and attitudes produced beneficial effects on the body, and he reasoned that the opposite must be true also — that negative attitudes produce harmful physical effects.
There began one of the strangest cures in history!
Norman checked out of the hospital when he started making progress. He began to take massive doses of vitamins and even went so far as to buy old Marx Brothers’ joke books and old Candid Camera films. He lay and laughed and laughed. He discovered that 10 minutes of deep belly laughter produced a couple of hours of restful sleep!
Miraculously, in a matter of months, Norman Cousins was well and back to work.
Now, I am not recommending that everyone attempt to do what Cousins did. However, I would point out that, once again, God’s word is proved true. Three thousand years ago when the Book of Proverbs was written, God knew the therapeutic effects of a happy and positive attitude.
Remember this the next time you are sick with an ill-defined illness – laugh, and keep in mind that “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
3.28.2006 - In the midst of a plundered city, the prophet Jeremiah wrote these words, “Great is thy faithfulness.”
Among the many attributes of God, His faithfulness stands out as especially precious. God is faithful to be who He says He is and to do what He says He will do.
The Word of God reveals to us who God is and, as we trust His word, we accept and grow in our faith to Him. God’s promises fill the pages of the Bible. Because of His exceeding faithfulness, He makes His promises good to each of us.
Faithfulness is foreign to many people today. The Bible claims, “A faithful man, who can find?”
We need to do what we say we will and not just adjust our actions to what is convenient at the time. In discovering how faithful God is, we can learn to be faithful in our daily life.
We need to ask ourselves how faithful we have been to the things of God. Can God count on you in your worship and service for Him? How would you do on a faithfulness test?
It is a characteristic that is sadly missing in today’s society. The Apostle Paul said, “Moreover, it is required of a steward, that a man be found faithful.”
There are many attributes a person can acknowledge in his or her life. One of the greatest of these is faithfulness.
Seeking to know God’s faithfulness to you, and responding with faithfulness of your own, is a great step towards re-building us, as individuals as well as a nation ‘under God’.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
3.21.2006
In 1980, a reporter for The Washington Post wrote a story that set off an unexpected chain of events in Washington.
The reporter was Janet Cooke, assigned to do local interest stories. She told her editor that she had heard of an 8- year-old who was addicted to heroin. Her editor replied, “Find that kid and it’s a front-page story.”
Cooke came back with a detailed account of how a ghetto woman had allowed her lover to inject and addict her son. The story was entitled, “Jimmy’s World”, and caused a furor in Washington.
Cooke refused to reveal her sources, so the mayor put the full resources of the police behind an effort to find the child. The Board of Education was bombarded with questions and complaints. Cooke was nominated by the Post for a Pulitzer Prize, journalism’s most prestigious award, and she won it.
However, as the reporters gathered biographical information for their story about her, they discovered she had lied about her background. She had told the Post she graduated from Vassar with honors and had earned an MA at the University of Toledo.
When the Post executives learned she had lied, they also uncovered the fact that she had fabricated the story of “Jimmy’s World.” She offered her resignation and the Post accepted it.
As I read that story, I thought of how none of us is in actuality what we seem to be on the surface. People see us, and our closest loved ones try to understand us and know more about us than anyone.
However, only God knows the “real you”. The Bible teaches that man looks on the outward appearance, but God sees the heart.
What an encouragement that is to those who struggle. We are often misread by others. At times our motives are questioned.
It is important then to remember God knows our hearts. In reality, that is all that counts. God sees our efforts and our motives, and He will bless us as we seek to be real, not superficial.
Lord, help me to always be loyal and true,
To show to the world a small glimpse of You,
To show a compassion, your mercy so sweet,
To get up from my knees and run with my feet.
To show by my actions what’s deep in my heart,
To live life that’s real, not playing a part.
Tho’ I am also made out of the clay,
Lord, please use me to help someone today.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
—MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
3.14.2006
One of our forefathers, Patrick Henry, was an intricate part of our freedom.
He believed in the new world, and he also believed it to be the will of God that a new nation be established. He was a godly man, and one who stood on principles of righteousness.
He said, “The old world is baptized in blood. It is drenched with the blood of millions who have been executed in slow grinding oppression.
“Look at Europe, Asia, Africa, and behold what a terrible sight — man trodden down beneath the oppressor’s feet, nations lost in blood, murder, and superstition walking hand in hand over the graves of their victims and not a single voice to whisper hope to man.But hark, the voice of Jehovah speaks out from that awful cloud: Let there be light again. Let there be a new world. Tell my people, the poor downtrodden millions, to go to the new world.
“As God lives, I believe that to be the voice of God. Yes, were my soul trembling on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice choking with the last gasp of that voice, I would implore you to remember the truth. God has given America to be free.”
What a privilege it is to be free.We know that our freedom is of and from God. Keep your trust in Him, America. He raised us up and He has the power to keep us free.
And when it seems that the freedoms we cherish may fail, keep in mind also the words of Jesus, beckoning us to the new world of eternal proportions.
“Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
That is the voice of Jehovah God with hope for all peoples, all poor downtrodden millions — free forever!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust that it is yours.
—MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
3.07.2006
Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”
I recently read the story of some women who were puzzled by that verse and wondered about the nature and character of God. One of the women offered to go and see the process of refining silver that week. She called the silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She gave no indication as to why, she just watched the silversmith at work.
As she watched, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver over the middle of the fire, where the flames were hottest, so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot. Then she thought again about the verse, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”.
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there the whole time the silver was being refined. He responded yes. He not only had to sit there but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman sat in silence. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled and said, “That’s easy – when I see my image in it!”
Friends, if you are feeling the heat of the fire, please know that God has his eye on you and will continue to watch you until He sees His image in you! May God comfort and bless you is my prayer. This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
—MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
2.28.2006 - God wrote in Exodus 34:7 “… visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children unto the third and fourth generation.”
All of us in America need to come to grips with the fact that our lives have an influence upon our children. Whether for good or bad, our children actually do become nothing more than “a chip off the old block”.
As you read the Bible, you can see this truth is brought out vividly. Jeroboam walked in the way of sin and the Bible states 21 times that his followers walked in his ways. We, as parents, should be in the business of showing our children how to live, not merely telling them how to live.
Take the case of Abraham, who had a problem with lying. He lied to a king concerning his wife, and his son Isaac told the exact same lie to a king several years later. Isaac’s son Jacob became known as a cheat and a liar — eventually having to leave his home because of it.
Years later, Jacob’s sons sold their brother into slavery — and lied about it! As God said, the iniquity of the father has been “visited,” or passed down, upon four generations.
For instance, don’t tell your child not to drink while you tip your glass. Show him how not to drink, otherwise he will become as you. Let’s show our children, by example, the principles that have caused our great land to be so blessed.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
—MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
2.21.2006 The Bible says in Exodus 23:2, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.” What pertinent advice this still is. Today, many are busy doing their own thing.
Never in the history of our country has it been so easy to do evil and still be respected. If you want to get drunk, smoke a little dope, cheat on your exam, cheat on your marriage, use God’s name in vain or anything else, you will not be made to feel guilty by your peers because many of them will be doing the same thing.
Consequently, one of the most important factors our society has had in keeping moral standards is just about gone — that of peer pressure.
If you are a Christian, you still have an incentive not to follow the multitude. As the songwriter put it, “Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run the race not only for the prize; But as those who’ve gone before us, let us leave to those behind us the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives. May all who come behind us find us faithful.”
As a Christian it is not easy to always do right. It’s difficult at times to make good decisions. However, God will give us strength to do the right thing. The Bible is our compass to give us direction when we wonder, “has all the world gone mad?”
It may seem that ‘everybody is doing it’, and you may feel pressure to follow suit. You may not think it will make a difference whether or not you hold up the standards; you may be ostracized, intimidated, or even made to feel like a fifth wheel. But God will reward you. A clear conscience will be yours.
God’s Word still stands — don’t follow the multitude to do evil!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
2.14.2006 The Duke of Windsor, commenting on American youth, once said, “The thing that impresses me about Americans is the way the parents obey the children!”
It is true that America is in a crisis with her youth. After 16 years of decline, the teen population began to increase in 1992. By 1995 there were 29 million people aged 12-19 in the U.S. and the teen population, again those aged 12-19, will expand to 34.9 million by the year 2010.
According to a US News & World Report, there are 19 million 10-14 year olds in America. Just over 50 percent of adolescents spend at least part of their lives in a single-parent home.
Marijuana use doubled among eighth graders between 1991 and 1994. About 30 percent of teens have had sex by the age of 15. I could go on and on, but we all realize there is a storm on the horizon. Considering that these facts and figures are from at least 10 years ago, they are extremely disturbing.
Everyone has an answer. The liberals tell us to spend more money. Throw it into education and alternative programs. However, we are spending and creating programs and the problems are getting worse!
When you open the Bible to Genesis 39 it is a breath of fresh air. You become acquainted with a Godly young man named Joseph and find that there was something different about Joseph!
Joseph grew up in a home where there was much negative influence. His brothers were problematic, to say the least! Yet you find that he stood head and shoulders above their evil practices, because he was a young man with a Godly character. Often we laugh at it and dismiss the value of it, but having our children in a place where God is taught is of the utmost importance.
Parents could start by setting an example in the home.
Then, don’t sent them, but take your children to God’s house on Sunday. This is not a ‘cure-all’, but we have to start somewhere because we are losing our young! Many are growing up in crisis, with liquor, drugs and a host of other addictions.
May I encourage you today, to make a conscious effort to instill Godly principles in your children. It will take some time but it will be worth it. Let’s not lose any more of our young people without a fight!
Let’s restore communication, the evening meal and attendance in the House of God. If you will listen you will hear that your kids need you. Be there for them! You may not realize it but you might be raising a Joseph, who will make you proud one day.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
—MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
2.07.2006
When Jesus walked on earth as a man, He healed many different types of infirmity — in every realm of life. In nature He calmed the sea and He took two fish and five loaves of bread and fed 5,000! All of His miracles are illustrations of what He can do spiritually. Jesus can calm the storms of life and He can make spiritually blind people see.
However, we often forget that He can also perform miracles in the realm of the emotional. The woman in Luke Chapter 13 was such a case. She had a “spirit” of infirmity. An emotional crisis had so affected her that for 18 years she was bowed over with the sickness of it and could not lift herself up. Jesus came and touched her, and made her well. The Bible says that, immediately she was made straight and glorified God.
Many people today suffer from an emotional trauma in life. Perhaps it stems from a painful childhood experience, a traumatic divorce, broken relationships or a wayward child. All of these things scar us and are as painful as physical illness. In many cases they can actually lead to physical illness, but we cannot live in an emotional world and not have some emotional scars.
A songwriter once said, “Down in the human heart crushed by the tempter, feelings lie buried that grace can restore. Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, chords that were broken can vibrate once more.”
If you are a hurting soul, if you have a limping spirit or a bruised personality, find your way to the Lord Jesus. You need his touch! With Him, life can have meaning again!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
1.31.06
On the Chickamauga Battlefield, there are hundreds of markers that tell the story of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
Yet there is one particular marker that reminds us of one of the darkest periods in American history. It is a monument that marks the spot where confederate Gen. Benjamin H. Helm was mortally wounded. The marker reads:
Benjamin H. Helm
Brig. Gen. CSA
Breckinridge’s Division
Mortally wounded here about 10:00 A.M. Sept. 20th, 1863
The significance of that one marker among hundreds is that Confederate Gen. Helm was the brother-in-law of President Abraham Lincoln. It reminds of a time in our history when a country was divided; state against state, family against family, brother against brother, and friend against friend.
One of the great tragedies of the Civil War was the division it created between families.
Though the war is over, divisions still exist today among families and friends. The Bible says in Psalm 133, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Unity is pleasant; division is grievous. Unity is pleasant; division is painful.
How sad it is when instead of majoring in communion, many are muddled in contention. Instead of bearing one another’s burdens, we are often burdened with one another’s battles. We are like two porcupines huddled together to keep warm, but their quills pricked each other and kept them apart. They needed each other, but they kept needling each other instead.
Our relationships in life need to be guarded against a hateful, vengeful spirit that ruins all that we touch. Mark it down: We need each other!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
1.24.2006
Water is the most common substance on earth. Seventy percent of the earth’s surface is water, and 97 percent of all water is in the oceans.
The availability of water has given rise to many great civilizations. Water is a great essential to life. Man can live for two months without food, but only one week without water.
In the days of the Bible, wells were of the utmost importance. Every generation would dig its own well and often pass down its wells from one generation to another.
Study the book of Genesis, and you will find they would even go as far as to name each well. There is also a spiritual truth that coincides:
In America today we drink from wells that our spiritual fathers have dug.
As you look over the past 200 years, it is with keen interest and thanksgiving that we remember our forefathers.
They were men and women of vision, selflessly determined to forge a nation with the purpose of liberty, and justice for all.
Those principles, their integrity, and their vision are wells we all enjoy today. From Patrick Henry to Thomas Jefferson, to the shores of Iwo Jima, we enjoy freedom because of their digging sacrifice.
They put principle above self and the water that poured from their well is sweet.
It is also important that every generation dig its own well. We cannot live off what others did for us. We must make wells for the next generations to drink from.
My father and mother dug a well for me, and I enjoy that water. I must dig a well for my children.
We have been given a great heritage from our forefathers. What will we leave for future generations? The poet,W.A. Dromgoole, writes:
An old man, traveling a lone highway,
Came at the evening cold and gray
To a chasm vast and wide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
For the sullen stream held no fears for him;
But he turned when he reached the other side,
And builded a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” cried a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength in building here;
Your journey will end with the ending of day
And you never again will pass this way.
“You have crossed the chasm deep and wide.
Why build you a bridge at eventide?”
And the builder raised his old gray head:
“Good friend, on the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me today
A youth whose feet will pass this way.
“This stream, which has been as naught to me,
To that fair-haired boy may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim —
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust that it is yours.
— MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
1.17.2006
The story of David and Mephibosheth, as recorded in II Samuel Chapter 9, is one of the great pictures of God’s grace found in the Bible.
When David acceded to the throne of Israel, he asked if there were any left of the house of Saul that he could show kindness to.
David’s servant, Ziba, told him of King Saul’s grandson who lived in poverty down in the land of Lodibar. The young boy had been dropped as a child and was unable to walk.
He lived in utter poverty, as did all in the land of Lodibar, as well as in fear that his life would be taken by the new king.
Down into the land of Lodibar, with the king’s chariot, Ziba drove. He brought Mephibosheth back to the palace. There David gave Mephibosheth things that he’d never dreamed possible.
He returned to him all the land that had belonged to King Saul and he placed him at the king’s table, to eat there continually and become as one of the king’s sons.
His residence would be in the palace for all of his days. Hours before, this lame poverty-stricken man lay clutched in the grip of fear, and now he was living like a child of the king.
This story so aptly illustrates God’s unmerited favor to you and me.
We have not done or accomplished anything on our own that is deserving of Heaven. But God, who is rich in mercy, overlooked our past, received us into the household of grace and adopted us.
We became one of His own.
After God had saved him from a life of sin, John Newton wrote these words —
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
I was blind, but now I see.”
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
—MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
1.10.2006
Minnie Louise Haskins wrote, “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the New Year, give me light that I may tread softly into the unknown, and he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. This shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’” Jesus Christ wants to meet us at the gate of the New Year. He wants to govern us, guide us and, yes, guard us through it all. That will make this year a happy year, regardless of the circumstances.
Twelve months ago another year was set before us. It has rolled into eternity and carried with it broken hearts, shattered dreams, personal loss and unanticipated anguish. It’s ancient history now. It’s too late to win victories where there were losses, to take back unkind words, to show strength instead of weakness, or to be loyal at times when we compromised.
However, there is good news! No, I haven’t saved a dime on car insurance! The good news is that we have a brand new year ahead of us - unsoiled and unspotted. There’s something fresh about the beginning of a new year. It’s almost as if God is saying, “OK – we’re going to do this again until you get it right!”
The words of Longfellow challenge us –
“Look not mournfully into the past; it comes not back again
Wisely improve on the present; it’s yours
Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a manly heart.”
This can only be done with Christ as our guide.
With all that the future may hold, let’s put our hand into the hand of God. In death, John Wesley said “The best of all is God is with us!” What a promise!
May God bless you, prosper you, teach and instruct you. But most of all, may He strengthen you for your journey.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust that it is yours.
–MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church
1.03.2006
Would you like to go to your closet and discover a whole new wardrobe? Do you like new things? Do you like new beginnings? Isn’t it wonderful to be able to start over? I’ve noticed, as a pastor, that when we talk about God doing a new work in someone or helping someone to be changed, it’s always someone else we want helped, changed or made new.
Endings are important also. In Revelation Chapter 1, God says He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. At times God brings an ending that He might help us to begin anew.
Only God can declare, “Behold I will do a new thing.” No one can really change us or equip us for the future except God.
As we enter this New Year, we need to ask the Lord to help us as we begin anew. But be careful, a new beginning is not always a different beginning. A farmer plants a new crop every year, but it isn’t always a different crop. New, but not different. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us that we are changed by the renewing of our minds.
God is constantly changing us. He is a skilled potter who wants to form and fashion us into his likeness. On most of us, He has a ways to go! Nevertheless, He wants to renew us.
As Americans, as Christians, as Dads and Moms, we need to prepare for this year. Ask God to renew you for Himself. Be renewed and ready. Ready for what’s coming. Ready for good news. Ready for your future.
We have been conditioned by the world’s culture to fear the future. We have learned to live in fear of what bad news lies ahead. However, God wants us to anticipate our future. When you lose sight of the hope of the future, you hold too dearly to the past. We may reach back, bring up the best of the past, put it in a box, tie a ribbon around it and ask the Lord to renew us again.
Commit this year to the Lord. Ask Him to light a torch of hope inside you with regard to this year. As the prophet said, we do not know the future but we do know Him who holds it.
May God bless you abundantly. May His mercy, peace and grace be yours.
This was the faith of our fathers, and I trust it is yours.
–MEL BRINDLEY
Pastor
Chestertown (Md.) Baptist Church