We will be going back to virtual meetings for the next couple of weeks do to a number of people being sick. I am not well myself and am not sure if I will be ready to deliver a message on Sunday, but I can open up the conference line for us to share and pray together either way. I will provide details to individual members. If you would like to be sure you get the details you can leave a message here or contact me directly.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2020.51
Hello loved ones. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas celebrations this week. As was the case for many this year, Linda and I didn’t get to see everyone we would have liked to, though not for reasons related to the virus. Still we enjoyed the company of friends and family and are grateful for God’s blessings.
As 2020 draws to a close, few will be sorry to see it go. Corona virus, riots, and political upheaval have made it a year we will not soon forget. I haven’t even touched on the challenges we’ve faced as a church this year. Will 2021 be better? We certainly hope so! We know that our troubles are not over.
Across the country over the next few days, pastors and other leaders will be looking for words to inspire hope for the year to come. Believers will turn to God and to His word for that inspiration. I’ve never been much for convention, but it seems appropriate for me to do the same. The need is undeniable.
Therefore, I turned my attention this week to one of Linda’s favorite passagesI know that she is not alone in drawing strength from it. I’ve included a few more verses for just a little bit of context. We’ll be reading from Isaiah 43:15-19.
This is part of Isaiah’s prophetic message to the nation of Israel. Recurring themes are Israel’s determination to sin and Yahweh’s determination to redeem. He alludes to their past and then presents to them a future in which they will once again be judged and once again be redeemed. But He says in other words, “don’t expect me to do it the same way.”
As we look through the scripture, we can see that this is the way God works. We cannot put Him into a box or explain Him with a formula. The Bible does not present us with a set of rituals, actions, or incantations to which God must respond in predictable ways, though some have tried to treat it that way. God is infinite and infinitely creative. His nature never changes, but His methods will always surprise. We can look to the past to teach us about God’s nature, but when we look to the future, we should be ready for Him to do something new!
Join us for our final service of 2020 and expect a new thing in your life!
Love y’all,
Larry
The Bartimaeus Blog 2020.50
Blessings to you, loved ones. It’s just over a week until Christmas as i write this. The anticipation feels somewhat muted this year, but I’m looking forward to some time off and to seeing family. Of course we should all be aware of present circumstances, but I hope you’ll be able to do the same. Let’s make a special effort this year to reach out to those we know might need a little extra love this season.
We had a good time last Sunday. I was delighted that Kimi was able to be with us and was even feeling well enough to help out. We weren’t supposed to have any gift distribution, but Cathy told us that someone donated to the church for Christmas and everyone got a little something. We are truly blessed. Special thanks to Cathy, and to everyone else who pitched in as usual to make the day a success.
I talked very briefly about the wonder of what God did by coming to us the way He did. It awes me every time I think about it. That’s why I like the song I sang so much. “Marry Did You Know” captures it beautifully. This week I want to expand on that. We love the season. As Christians we know that there is no Christmas without Christ, but there are no words to adequately capture the significance of what happened that day.
Jesus described Himself as the beginning and the end. He was and is and is to come. He and the Father are one. In short, Jesus is God. And yet, Jesus is man. Jesus took on flesh and was born just like the rest of us. The almighty, infinite personality that created the universe came to us in human form and was born! It is critical that we understand this and that we are able to share it with those who do not know Him. For those likely to be hearing me, I won’t be telling you anything you don’t already believe, but I hope that by bringing the evidence of scripture to the forefront of your mind this Christmas, you’ll be ready and able to give an answer for the hope that is within you. We’ll begin from Matthew 1:22-23.
Merry Christmas y’all!
Larry
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Merry Christmas y’all! This Sunday will be our official Christmas celebration at BBT. It will be a little different this year but just as special. We have all that we truly need because Jesus came to us on that day over two thousand years ago. The will never be a greater gift than that!
So we are going to celebrate together. We will have a short service. We’ll sing some carols and I’ll read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-14 and say just a few words…I promise! 🙂 Then, just maybe, I might sing a few.
If that doesn’t scare you off, come join us for a light afternoon meal at the conclusion of the service. If you do not normally attend, please let one of us know you’re coming. If you want to bring gifts to share you are welcome to do so, but there will be no formal gift distribution this year.
Keep Kimi in prayer. She was rushed to Baylor earlier today with chest pain and severe breathing difficulty. That is all the hard info I have so far. The assumption is that the blood clots have relocated.
On a happier note, Cindy’s covid test came back negative. We look forward to seeing her Sunday.
Love you all,
Larry
The Bartimaeus Blog 2020.48
Good day, friends and family. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been enjoying the cooler weather. The only thing is I don’t want to get up in the morning. It’s so warm and comfortable under the covers. But we have work to do, and I especially like the work I get to do on the weekends. I get to do what God made me to do when I am preparing to be with you on Sunday. My prayer for all of us is that we have that joy.
I’ve been thinking about peace. I speak of it fairly often because it is a recurring theme in the Bible. I often quote passages that tell us to pursue peace. That’s an active word. We can’t just wait and hope for it. We have to go after it. What does that look like? What does it mean for us to pursue peace in our daily lives? How might we pursue peace in our workplace, our church, our families, and especially with God? I hope you’ll join us tomorrow as we look into His word for the answers, starting in 1 Peter 3:8-12.
I learned from Cindy this week that her grandsons have now contracted the coronavirus. She is waiting for test results on herself so unless she gets a negative result in time I do not expect that we will see her tomorrow. Pray for her and the family for quick recovery. Pray for everyone’s protection during this time and for all of those we know already facing health challenges. I still ask for the best result as I understand it while trusting that the Lord knows better.
Love to you all. I hope I’ll see you tomorrow.
Larry
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Blessings to you, loved ones. I hope you all had a joyful Thanksgiving holiday. I certainly enjoyed the time we spent together last Sunday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.
I know that for some of us things might not have gone the way we hoped this week. The holidays are supposed to bring families together, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Old feuds are reignited. Personalities clash. Expectations are not met. Some people would happily skip this time of year. Now we’re moving on to Christmas and complicating things further with gift exchanges.
The family is supposed to be our safe place, but for many it’s just the opposite. Why are so many of our families so broken? The first answer is simple enough. They are made up of broken people. We’re all born into sin, and even after we find Jesus we struggle with our flesh. We make mistakes. We hurt each other. We go and do things outside of God’s design.
I believe that Satan attacks the family in particular because he understands its importance. God designed it to show us His love in all its forms. Our families are supposed to mirror God’s family. Destroying the family destroys something fundamental to who we are. For this reason, we aught always to strive to heal broken relationships.
But what if the family cannot be healed? I have often been somewhat troubled by these words of Jesus, “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.” (Mt. 12:35-36 NASB) In many places around the world today, these words would not be hard to understand at all. Converting to Christianity often means ostracism or worse from one’s own family.
A few years ago, I realized how these words apply even to us, who usually don’t suffer more than a bit of scorn for our decision. It still hurts, but isn’t fatal. A true follower of Jesus will live a life that looks at least a little like Jesus. He or she will make choices in accordance with what is right and true. Wherever light and darkness meet, the darkness must give way. If you are living for the truth, you will be opposed, and that opposition may come from those closest to you. This kind of brokenness Jesus told us to expect.
That doesn’t mean we give up. We keep on loving, keep on forgiving, keep on praying, and keep on speaking the truth. We pursue peace. We put our own pride aside and confess when we are in the wrong. We long for the day when Jesus returns and reunites His family. But it does mean that until that time there are some wounds that will not heal and some relationships that will not mend. Do not be discouraged. If you have done all that you can do, leave the rest in God’s hands. Keep standing in the truth, and do not compromise the things that matter.
Your church family would be delighted to see you on Sunday. Come join us, and let the joy of the Lord be your strength.
Love y’all!
Larry
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Good morning friends and family. I hope you’ll be able to join us today. It will be our Thanksgiving celebration. As with recent events we have not widely proclaimed our intention as the numbers we can accommodate are limited by safety concerns, but you will be welcome if you want to come. We will have a meal together after the service. I will deliver a shortish Thanksgiving message from 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
I have not spoken to them yet but I saw yesterday that Kimi has been in what she called the worst pain from the clots and Priscilla was feeling sick again. I believe she was at the church yesterday so I hope that means she will be ok to join us, but keep both of them in prayer. Shelly was hospitalized last week to undergo treatment for the infection she has been fighting. I will try to find out more this morning about everyone’s situation.
Love you all,
Larry
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Hello loved ones. This will be a quick update as I am writing it from the Uber on the way to church. The big question for those who haven’t already heard is about Kini. She did get to go home on Tuesday and is recovering with the help of medications. Priscilla also seems to be doing better, though she said she still does not have an apatite.
The inspiration for today’s message came from a prayer request I recently received. The person wanted prayer to “hate sin.” That’s not a bad thing, but my immediate thought was this, “I will pray that he will love God.” It is in growing our relationship with God that we will come to love what He loves and hate what He hates. I didn’t find a place in my bible where we are told to hate sin. I did find some where we are told to hate evil. We have to come to the place where we see our willful sin as the evil that it is. I hope you’ll be able to join us today as we read Psalm 97. Let’s learn to love our awesome Lord.
Love y’all!
Larry
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Hello friends and family, My prayer for us this week has been that we find peace and purpose in the knowledge that our God is still in control. He’s not up there wringing His hands wondering what to do about the mess down here. He’ll clean it up when the time has come. Meanwhile, He is still working, and He calls us to work with Him.
I want to offer you a bit of encouragement. Things may not be looking so good right now. On a personal level, we’ve lost loved ones and others are sick. As I write this, Kimi remains in the hospital with blood clots in her legs and in her lungs. At a national level, we still don’t know who the president will be. For many of us, that can cause a great deal of anxiety if we let it.
On Tuesday, I went with Linda to our local polling place. She requested an absentee ballot, but never received it. Were it not for some helpful and knowledgeable poll workers, her vote might not have been counted at all this year. Questions are being raised in cities across the country. What does that mean for us? What kind of future will we have. People on both sides are convinced that the victory of the other candidate spells disaster. I confess to having some of that concern as well.
This is not the first time many of us have felt that way. I have shared before that I was almost in tears when it became evident who the two candidates would be in 2016. That is when I read Proverbs 21:1 and took comfort from it. It says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He pleases.” (NASB) Certainly it matters who the president is. Certainly we have the responsibility to do all that we can to make sure the one who is closest to God’s values is elected. But we must not lose sight of these truths. No man or woman on earth is our savior. Only a return to the one and only true savior will save our nation. God is and will always be in control. Nothing happens without His permission.
We may be headed for a time of judgment. I have thought so for many years. How does a nation that slaughters the innocent in the womb escape God’s wrath? It cannot. Yet our God is merciful. If His people will humble themselves and pray, turn from their own wicked ways and seek His face, He will hear from Heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land. (2 Chr. 7:14) That message was given to Israel in the context of having already undergone God’s judgement, but it tells us that we serve a merciful God, willing and able to deliver us.
We have a president, not a king, but God is still king over him. As a child of God, you are part of God’s kingdom. You need have no fear. You can say along with the psalmist, “Yahweh is for me; I do not fear. What can mere humans do to me?” (Ps. 118:6 LEB)
I hope you can join us tomorrow. Keep Kimi in your prayers and also Priscilla.
Love you all,
Larry
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Blessings to you, loved ones. At this point you will probably see this after the fact, but here’s what’s going on at BBT.
Even though our numbers are small, I felt encouraged last week just by being together and being there for each other. I believe God’s hand is on this church and He has good things in store. We just need to keep trusting Him and keep doing what we know. Part of the reason I’m writing this so late is that I had trouble coming up with today’s message. Yesterday afternoon I was writing in my journal, which takes the form of written prayer, and asking God what I should say. That is when this came to me.
When someone asks you, “What do you want?”, what is the first thing that comes to mind? That probably depends on the context. The answer will be different in a serious conversation than at a restaurant. We all want something, and usually there are layers to that desire. We want something because we think it will fill a deeper want or need that we have.
Let’s ask the question differently. What is the desire of your heart? What do you lay awake at night and think about? Does it seem out of reach? Maybe you’ve heard that God wants to give you the desire of your heart, but it remains unfulfilled. Maybe we need a better understanding of what that means. Our text will be Psalm 37:3-6. Here David gives us the key. I look forward to sharing it with you this afternoon.
Love y’all!
Larry