There was once a young man who sold books door to door.   He was crippled and walked with great difficulty. At one house where he stopped, the woman rudely turned him down. When he started to walk away, she saw his physical condition and called him back. “I didn’t know that you were crippled. I will buy one of your books.”

But the young man wasn’t selling sympathy, he was selling books and he let her know it. “But,” she said, “doesn’t being lame color your life?” The young man replied, “Yes, it does, but thank God that I am the one who chooses the colors.” We choose the colors of our lives, too.

It is a truism in life that we make our choices, then our choices make us. That is especially applicable when it comes to the series, I am presently preaching called THE BEATITUDES: HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. In the eight Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus shares the attitudes that are necessary for a truly happy life.

The word that Jesus used for “blessed” in the Beatitudes refers to happiness in its fullest sense. It is the Greek word makarios and the true meaning of the word can be seen in the way that the Greeks used it. They called the Island of Cyprus he makaria which means “The Happly Isle.” They did so because they believed that Cyprus was so beautiful, so rich in resources, and so fertile that it contained within itself everything necessary for perfect happiness.

And so the Beatitudes teach us that we have to find happiness within ourselves – within our own hearts and minds. But Jesus doesn’t leave us clueless when it comes to finding happiness. He shares with us eight spiritual attitudes that, if we appropriate them for our lives, will help us discover that happiness does not depend on our outward circumstances but on our inward character.   

January has been a good month with 374 in Bible Study. January also marked a change in our Sunday morning schedule.  We went from two Sunday Schools back to one, and from three worship services back to two. Our nine o’clock service, called our “Classic Service,” has really benefitted from this change. The fullness of the church house, along with the strong spirit of the service, has been inspiring to us all. Our “Contemporary Service,” now at 11:20, also continues to do well. And everyone tells me they enjoy us being back in one Sunday School!

February has some great events waiting for you: 

February is going to be a great month!   Come EXPECTANTLY! 

Why not make the new year of 2020 a year of devotion? Start or end each and every day talking to God and listening to God speak to you. We talk to God through prayer. We listen to God by reading His Word, the Bible.  

Find a place for your devotional time – a place that will be available to you each time you come to God. Make it a quiet place where distractions will be minimal. Satan will seek to distract you, especially from praying, so you’ll have to learn to focus on your conversation with God. Developing a passionate prayer life demands two things: concentration and consistency!

Find a readable translation of the Bible that is faithful to the original text.   There are more options for that today than ever before. I use a hard bound One Year Bible in the New International Version that I have marked through years of reading. I like it because each day I get a couple of chapters of the Old Testament, a chapter of the New Testament, a passage from the Psalms and a Proverb or two. There are many other choices out there, both in hard copy or online or in the form of apps.

The important thing is to take the time to be with God! The story is told that on one New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gasoline. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.

We have vast spiritual resources through our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a shame when we “run out of spiritual gas” because we don’t spend time with God. Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”

December has been a good month with 350 in Bible Study.  Dr. Robert Pepper, former missionary to West Africa, did a great job sharing at our Lottie Moon Emphasis on December 1^st.      Our Christmas program, “The Wonders of His Love” performed by our multi-faceted Music Ministry and The Cross Ties Band, was one of the best we have ever had! Many hands were busy setting up for The Christmas Canopy in our gym, which was a very special event for the women of our community.

We also voted on our 2020 Church Budget as well as voted to implement a new Sunday Morning Schedule on January 5^th, 2020. The new schedule will be:

9:00-9:55 Classic Worship combining the Traditional & Blended services

10:10-11:05 Sunday School for Everyone!

11:20-12:15 Contemporary Worship Service

Our 24^th ANNUAL BARNESVILLE GAME & FISH BANQUET is scheduled for Tuesday night, February 11^th. Seminars will take place from 6:00 to 6:55, with the banquet beginning at 7:00pm. Our banquet speaker is legendary professional bass fisherman, Hank Parker. I’ve had the opportunity to hear him before, and this is the ONE BANQUET you’ll want to bring your unchurched friends to! Tickets are again $10 per person or a table of ten for $80. Tickets go on sale Sunday, December 29^th.

January is going to be a great month! Come EXPECTANTLY!