In a familial relationship, God intended that husbands and dads always act in the best interest of their family.  Though many men have shirked their responsibilities as heads of their houses, most are able to understand the logic of God’s design.  God himself is the Heavenly Father, especially of those who have been adopted into His family by accepting the forgiveness made available through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Someone might ask, “Does God follow his own rules for fathers?”  “Does he purpose the good of those that have chosen to be part of his family?”  “Does he always act in their best interest?”  The answer to all of these, is a resounding “YES!”  The scriptures declare,  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)”  “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)”

  But there is more, notice, the verse does not say that God’s goodness is limited to what He initiates on behalf of His children, but He has promised to work “all things” together for their good.  This means the things that evil men do, that governments do, that family members do, that we do ourselves, etc.   Because He is sovereign, God is able to superimpose His plan over all the events of life for the good of His children, no matter who initiated them.  He is: Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), and Omnipresent (everywhere present).  He is God!  …and He is my loving Heavenly Father.

  You don’t need to take my word for it though; look around at all He has done, and believe!  Read the book He wrote for you, and believe!  As surreal as these thoughts might sound at first, you’ll discover in His world and Word, that He is God of the impossible.  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)” 

  Since your eternal destiny depends on what you do with Jesus, you owe it to yourself to look into these things.  You’ll find that the Almighty’s plan and provision will result in the ultimate good for all who call Him Father.

  We truly praise the Lord for our facilities at Corinth Baptist Church, the greater portion of which is approaching 170 years old.  As you might imagine, in the course of history, the old building has required repairs and updates.  For example, during the 170 years, the church transitioned from oil lighting to electric.  Recently, we have been upgrading our electrical panels and repairing and refinishing walls and floors in our classrooms and offices.  As with any old construction, the tasks seem unending at times, but each project brings excitement as we make ready for the generations ahead.

  Our construction reminds me often of another building project in which we are engaged.  One of our stated purposes is to “edify” believers.  This is a Bible word that means simply, to build up.  The Word of God has much to say about our ministry of edification:  “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. (Romans 14:19).”  “Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. (Romans 15:2).”   “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying… (Ephesians 4:29a).”  “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

  Corinth Baptist Church exists to glorify our Lord by preaching His gospel, and building lives that clearly reflect the character of Jesus Christ.  God gave His Son, Jesus, to die for your sins because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.  Jesus was buried, but rose up from the grave on the third day, and is alive today, in Heaven, at His Father’s right hand.  Those who accept His forgiveness by faith will have everlasting life, while those who refuse will spend eternity in Hell.  Jesus died to afford you the choice!

  Once a person accepts God’s gift of forgiveness, the process of building begins.  With the spiritual building materials and explicit instruction provided in the Word of God, believers are being built up into the character of Christ.

  Would you come and build with us?  

  Just last week, I heard it said that a certain individual was afraid to die.  Perhaps their fears are fostered by the unknown.  “Is there truly life after death?  Will I really meet God?”  These are the type of questions that plead for answers in the private recesses of the mind.  But many have dismissed all such ponderings and have chosen to reject any supposed truth that would make them answerable to a God that they cannot see.  They hope that, if God really exists, He will turn out to be something akin to the fictitious Wizard of Oz, who will grant them safe passage to an ethereal afterlife of ease.

  There are others who fear the very events that they have learned to anticipate with dread.  They have embraced the fact that “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)”  They are terrified in their unpreparedness, and draw back at the thought of standing before the Almighty with nothing to say for themselves.  They have enjoyed the pleasures of sin for a season, but realize that a day of reckoning lies eerily in the dark shadows just ahead.  A heightened nervousness marks the passage of each day as they approach their unavoidable end.

  And then there are those who laugh in the face of death.  Some because they are fools who say there is no God (Psalm 14:1), …others because they are ready to die, having made arrangements with God on His terms.  He spells it out for us in: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)”  “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)”  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9)”

  Dear Friend, you don’t have to be afraid to die.  Those who know God will live with Him forever in the eternal abode that is promised to all who come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ.  It is time for you to get ready!

  As my wife and I drive the short distance to church on Sunday mornings, we pass a lot of busy neighbors.  On any given week, there might be those who are getting their exercise walking or jogging gleefully up and down the street.  It is not uncommon to find someone just inside his opened garage door, bent over his riding mower, car, or truck performing some necessary maintenance.  We might have to swerve to keep from running over the heels of someone returning to their car from a yard sale.  Another neighbor might be gathering up the last couple bags of leaves for the season.  The parking lots of local businesses sometimes seem more stocked than the shelves inside, etc.  For many reasons, most have forgotten that Sunday is “The Lord’s Day.”

  I know, many of you are thinking, “Why doesn’t he mind his own business?,” but that’s my point—these people are my business.  They are my neighbors, and here in America, we are supposed to concern ourselves with the welfare of our neighbors.  Remember how the pilgrims displayed that “all for one” mentality and survived the first harsh winter at Plymouth Rock?  Remember hearing about WWII when our nation pulled together as one, and with our allies, defeated the Nazi regime?  And then, please recall, that feeling of patriotism and brotherhood that drew us together as a nation when we were attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001.  People stood in lines for hours, without complaining, to offer their life’s blood for their injured neighbors.

  So don’t be upset with me neighbor, when I say, I’m concerned for you.  History is filled with examples of people and nations who forgot God.  They are no more.  As long as we are “one nation under God,” we will also be “indivisible,” but when God is forgotten, we are divided and vulnerable.  Our faith in the God of the Bible is what made our country great and has sustained us through these many years.  The answer to our national decline, and global unrest is not in some political strategy, because the godless cannot be governed.  But the Bible says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)”

  Truly there are rare instances in which “parting is such sweet sorrow,” but more times than not, exchanging “goodbyes” is not a happy occasion.  Just the mention of the word evokes bitter grief when it involves family or close friends.  As of this writing, it has been seven days since my son and his family left our home in Maine for the three day journey back to their home in another state.  The emotions that I experienced when they drove away reminded me of my son’s college days and saying goodbye at the airport.  I still remember that heartsick feeling that expressed itself in tears as I returned to my home alone.  The difference in our recent parting was that now each of my five grandchildren has created a hollow spot in my heart that fills with sadness when they step out of my world and back into their norm.

  Wouldn’t it be great if we never had to say “goodbye” again? Believe it or not, the Bible tells us that such a day is coming for those of us who have a faith relationship with God, through His Son, Jesus Christ.  There is going to be a great reunion some day in which the saints of all ages will be resurrected and we who are alive will join them for eternal fellowship, in the presence of the Lord, with no goodbyes.  “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1Thessalonians 4:16-17)”

 While we wait for that glad day, we will continue to walk upon a sin cursed earth where Satan, the enemy of our souls, and all of his cohorts, work tirelessly to accentuate the horrors of the “last goodbye” for those who still grope in darkness.  Dear believer, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14).”  What a privilege it is to share the good news that there does not have to be a last goodbye!