Coming to you from CentriKid

I am writing this blog entry from Centri-Kid camp, at Skycroft Camp in Maryland. The theme verses for the week are two of my all time favorites:

Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."



The theme of the week that goes along with the verse is "Game On! Living a transformed life." The kids will be challenged to not just know about Jesus, but to know Him in a way that transforms their lives. It is real easy for kids that grow up in church to know all "about" Jesus without ever really knowing Him intimately and personally. It is the intimate, personal knowledge of Christ that is a transforming knowledge.


Can I challenge  you to do what the children are being challenged to do? Examine your life. Does it reflect the transforming power of Jesus? If not, what can you do to know the Savior better so that His power transforms you?


Remember, the bible was not written simply for your information.....it was written for your transformation.

VBS at Bethel

One thing that has always amazed me at Bethel is our VBS. It is top notch down to the last detail. I have marveled at how our people come together and work as one to get the job done with excellence. there is a culture that has developed with Bethel's VBS over the years that simply will not accept mediocrity. It is truly a team effort. Everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. In spite of the long hours, and the hard work, I never hear anyone complaining. There are smiles and laughter everywhere as God's servants do the work of the ministry. The joy of the Lord is apparent in the lives of the workers as they interact with the kids, and each other. Our VBS workers are a visible example of the people of God being the servants HE has called them to be.

Thanks Bethel VBS workers for your hard work and dedication. No matter what your role was this week, you were a partner in a venture that has sown seeds of the gospel into the lives of precious children. You will have to wait to get to heaven to understand the full impact for the Kingdom of God that your service to the Lord has produced this week. 

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The enemy of your soul has so many weapons to throw at you child of God. He knows how your flesh operates and he knows how to appeal to it in the right way so as to entice you. He knows where your weaknesses are and therefore knows what to throw at you and precisely when to throw it at you. He waits just like the lion for the opportune moment to pounce on you. When he pounces he has one goal.....to devour you.

That's why you have to be sober. That's why you have to be alert. Do not be ignorant to the schemes of the devil. You do not have to fall prey to him. You are in Christ Jesus who has overcome the devil.

Might I encourage you today in with three keys to victorious living over your adversary the devil. First pray for wisdom. Ask God to give you wisdom in regards to the way that the devil operates. If you are wise to his devices it makes it more difficult for him to get a foothold in your life somewhere from which he is able to operate. The Lord will answer that prayer if you earnestly ask HIM to give you the wisdom to know how the devil works.

Second ask the Lord to give you strength. It is one thing to know how the devil operates. It is another thing entirely to be strong enough to resist his devices. You need the strength of the Lord to overcome.

Third talk to other Christians about your struggle with the devil. We need relationships in our lives that can help encourage us to be what God is calling us to be. If you have people in your life that you feel comfortable around, and that you trust enough to be transparent with it will help you. Share with them how the enemy has attacked you, and get them praying for you.

Do not let the enemy devour you. Jesus has won the victory over him and so can you. 

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'" - Genesis 50:24 

Why do you suppose God referred to Himself as the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob"? Why didn't He simply say, "the God of Jacob"? 

The Scriptures do not really tell us why this is so, but let us consider why today.

Could it be that the Lord has given us sort of a picture of the trinity in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The nation of Israel looked to Abraham as a father. He took his only son Isaac up a mountain to sacrifice him. Jacob struggled to learn to deny his flesh and walk according to the Holy Spirit.

Also consider this: In Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the Lord has given us three different men through whom He accomplished His divine purposes. Abraham  went out into unknown territory and was considered righteous for his unusually great faith. Isaac was a man who was simply faithful to follow in his inheritance. He had a consistent steady walk with God. He experienced the fewest difficulties among the three. His call was to simply to be faithful to be a good steward of what had been given. Jacob on the other hand had extreme conflict in his life. He suffered more trials than either of the other two. He had a lot of conflict in relationships. He had to learn to navigate life through much difficulty. We can all relate to these men on some level. But certainly one of these men will be more familiar to your own experience in life. 

God works in each person's life in a unique way. The bible has given us examples from the Scriptures. Who is it that you relate too the best as you evaluate your own Christian Journey? Let your heart be encouraged as you seek to learn from the stories of those who have gone before you.

21 years ago today

21 years ago today at Kempsville Baptist Church in Virginia Beach an event took place that has shaped my life more than any other single event outside of my salvation. I was married to the former Kay Davis Alexander. I can not even to begin to express how deeply my love for this amazing woman has grown over these years. We have shared many difficult days and many triumphs together in these 21 years. We had no idea when we stood at that altar together and exchanged vows the journey the God had planned for us to walk together. Life in the ministry has been both exciting and heart breaking, exhilarating and devastating. Through it all her steadfast faith has been a bedrock for me to lean upon. This woman trusts God and I am so grateful for that. Her love for her husband and her three children runs deep, and she shows it in so many ways.

Thanks Kay, for 21 years. I don't deserve you. I am so glad I have you. I love you with all my heart. 

Stand strong

1 Peter 4:4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;

Living for Christ in an ungodly world brings with it certain challenges. Since coming to Christ most of the places I have worked had certain "extra curricular activity" associated with the culture of the organization that I had to distance myself from in order to walk with Christ in holiness. Such activities are not only associated with certain work places, but even with certain family gatherings, neighborhood gatherings......even when parents get together who's children play little league baseball together. When you voluntarily choose to absent yourself from some of these activities that do not glorify God, that carries with it a certain stigma that tends to brand you in the eyes of all the others. They don't understand why you do not wish to participate in all that they are doing. They look down on you, exclude you, they often talk about you behind your back.

The temptation to compromise can be intense. Stand strong believer and do not let them persuade you to compromise. It can be very tempting to just blend in. It is even easy to justify in your thinking. It starts with just one little compromise here, and another there.....then you look back and discover that you have gone down a path that you never wanted to be on. Remember that when you distance yourself from ungodly things your heavenly Father is pleased with you. Let that be a consolation to your heart when you know that people in the world do not think very highly of you. Live out the joy of your Savior before them. You may just discover that some of them find it interesting that you are full of contentment without some of those things in your life. Your abstention may even be something that they secretly wish they were able to do. And maybe, just maybe, some of them might be attracted to investigate a relationship with Jesus based on your witness.

Power of the tongue

James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

The tongue is such a small part of our anatomy and yet in it is great power. James under inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote about the tongue in his epistle and used the metaphor of a forest fire to draw analogy to what a misdirected tongue can produce. Every forest fire begins with a spark in the wrong place. The spark turns into a blaze, which turns into a forest fire that does great damage.

Just a few weeks ago on March 26, a wildfire broke out just a few miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. Before the fire was contained over 4000 acres of land was destroyed, 25 homes burned to the ground and three people were killed because they did not get out of their homes in time.

Most people do not realize the power of their tongue. With it is the power to build up and the power to tear down. One little comment (the spark) is all it takes to ignite a fire storm (the forest fire) of gossip that destroys reputations, ministries, churches, and people's lives.

Let us be children of the light and use our tongues to build up, to edify, and to bless.

And if we don't have anything good to say, I suggest we just keep our mouths shut.