Changing blogs

Well, I am moving my blog from blogger to wordpress. If you wish to still follow me please go to acw4christblog.wordpress.com.

God bless!
-Drew

Truth, Friendship, and World Evangelism.

     Hello friends! Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything. (The internet has been down for two weeks!!) Last week was the "Independent Baptist Friends International Conference. You can learn more about the conference by going here.

     So what's the point? We, as Christians, have the Truth. We have the Truth of the Word of God, of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ. The world needs the Truth! Therefore it is our responsibility to accomplish World Evangelism. How are we going to do this? How can we evangelize the whole world? The bridge between Truth and World Evangelism is Friendship. We Evangelize the world by standing with others who stand on Truth and working together to spread the Gospel.

     How far do we go with Friendship? As far as the Bible does. We stand with those who have a testimony of receiving Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. We stand with those who stand firmly on the Word of God, believing that it is the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of God and only use the King James Version in the english speaking world. We stand with those who are members of a Local New Testament Church that has right doctrine from the Word of God. We stand with those who are soul-winners seeking to see all people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. When people compromise on the Truth in order to accomplish World Evangelism, then we really haven't accomplished anything at all have we?

     The meeting was absolutely fantastic. God has really done a work in the hearts of those who were there. He has especially done a work in my heart and Melinda's heart. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to give our lives to God's Will.

In the Clutches of the Cross,

-Drew

Phil. 4:13; Eph. 6:10

Go Home Ministry Weekend

     Well, going home for the weekend was truly a blessing. I didn't accomplish some of the "this and that" kind of things I wanted to, but God was good.


The weekend was great, but there was a rather sobering even that happened. My pastor's daughter had been expecting a baby boy named Caleb for five months. On March 1st, her and her husband found out that Caleb had already gone to heaven. The mother gave birth and plans were made. The calling hours and funeral went as good as they can. God touched our hearts and gave strength to pastor and his family. Pastor preached a phenomenal message titled, "What I Believed in the Light I Still Believe in the Dark." If you would be so kind, please allow to my digress a few moments on dealing with loss and death. There are several misconceptions about it. I'm no expert, but I've my share of experience with it. I lost my father when I was six months old.

1. Telling someone you understand. – No you don't. Not unless you have gone through precisely the same things they've experienced all their life leading up to this point. You may know what it's like to lose, but you do not know or understand exactly how they feel.
2. Telling someone that they can "get remarried" or "have more kids" or something to that effect. – Wow. Did you really just say that? I'm sorry, but that will not help at this moment in time. The only thing people really want to know is that you love them and you are praying for them.
3. Just keep pressing on and it will get easier. – This is the biggest misconception. I was talking with a friend of mine who also lost his father. The truth is, it doesn't get easier. It will always hurt. But God's mercies are new every morning. You "learn to deal" so to speak. You fall. You cry. You ask questions. But then you get up. You wipe your tears off your face. You accept it as God's plan and move on with your life. This is an oversimplification because it can only be done through the strength of the Lord.
4. If someone dies tragically or suddenly, they must have been out of the will of God. – Seriously? This is just not true. The day my father passed away, he told my mom that he had answered the call to preach.

     I hope this doesn't come off as a rant, because it's not intended to be. Just some things I noticed and found to be misunderstood.

     People often wonder why things like this happen. Well, I believe we can find the answer to this question in the Bible. II Corinthians chapter 1. Paul writes, "And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same suffering which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation." One of the reason we suffer and go through things is so that God can use us to help others that are suffering. James 1:2-4 tells us we experience trials so that God can complete us. In summary, we could cite many verses in the Bible about trials and suffering. The reason for it is to draw us closer to God so that we can be used of Him in a greater way. It makes Him more real to us and forces us to depend on Him.

     Overall the ministry weekend was good. I was able to teach Sunday School, sing in morning and evening services, and preach on Sunday night. The Lord strengthened pastor over this weekend. He needed some rest. God used this weekend to give me some much needed rest as well. Also I was blessed financially (which was not a goal, but something God did).

     Glad to be back at school and in the home stretch! 54 days until commencement and 122 days until graduation! It's gonna be a crazy semester, but God is good.

God bless.

Do you really pray for others?

     Oftentimes people will give us prayer requests and our first response is, "Yeah I'll pray for that!" It then almost immediately leaves our mind if it is not written down. I'm just as guilty of this as anybody is. But, when you do pray for others, how do you do it? Do you say, "Lord, bless so and so with this difficult situation. Amen." Well, that was nice, but let's see what the Bible has to say about praying for others. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:3.

"Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."

      So, how should we pray for others? This verse tells us that we need to pray for them as if it was us suffering the grief. If a fellow Christian is having a hard time, pray for them as if you were praying for yourself in the same situation. This will radically change our prayer lives. I would encourage, pray for others, and pray for them as if you were "bound with them" and "as being yourselves also".

God bless you all!

Illness and midterms ... coincidence?

     I think not. I was struck with a sinus infection about a week before midterms began. I'm finally getting over it and appreciate your prayers. Midterms week is in full swing now. I had one yesterday. That was a story. At almost midnight on Sunday night I realized that I had a midterm, two chapters of reading, a project, and a notebook due all in the same class. *rolls eyes* So I printed my notebook, wrote a short paper, and went to bed. The next morning I woke up, went to breakfast, put my notebook together, and studied for my test. 11:00 finally rolled around and the test began. It wasn't too bad really ... I ended up getting a 94! Also, the notebook was postponed ... rats. God was merciful on me yesterday.
     He was merciful on me again today. I had my Hebrew midterm on Genesis 2. We had to translate several verses from Hebrew to English basically out of our heads. But again, God was good. I don't know how I did yet, though.
     Melinda is doing well and has some big midterms tomorrow so please continue praying for her. Also, pray for her brother, William, as he has surgery today at 1:00pm. Another prayer request is for her family in general as they are going through some hard times.
     Please continue praying for all of the Crown Students as we are in the middle of midterms and trying to get things done.
    I will have a more "spiritual" update soon ... just working on a few things right now.

God bless!

Ah ... I miss Sesame Street

     Sometimes I try to recapture my youth, but that often doesn't really work out. Sesame Street is one of those shows that I vividly remember watching as a child. It had a major affect on my sense of humor, my spelling, and my music appreciation. This is classic. Enjoy!



God bless

So what do you do when you're bored?

     BLOG! (Apparently) Also, Game!  Yes, I am a gamer at heart. I haven't done it so much since I've been at school ... you know, cause I have so much free time ... But it something I like to do.
     So when is a good time for gaming? Well, personally, I like to game when I really just don't feel like thinking anymore. To me, it's a wind-down thing. It's not always do, however. I do enjoy reading for pleasure. When I'm at school, however, reading for pleasure doesn't seem so enjoyable. (I do enough for classes) I don't have a jillion games on my computer, either. I have some old Nintendo emulators which are fun, but kinda glitchy. Recently I've been enjoying a little game called "Cave Story". It's a lot of fun. It's just a little platformer. (Which means you jump around a lot) It's a 2D game reminiscent of the NES.  Also, I've been enjoying a Star Wars game called Knights of the Old Republic. But this is all kind goofiness. Anyway, if you DO happen to enjoy games, you can download it here. (Be sure to download the English Patch.)
      Anyway, time for work!

God bless!

So what do you do with a blog?

In trying to think about exactly what I'm going to post on this, I've come to a few conclusions

1. There will be some personal updates for friends and family. (If you are one of my friends on facebook there will be some overlap, but hopefully not a lot)
2. Truths from the Word of God
3. General thoughts and opinions

That's what it's pretty much come down to. Any other ideas, suggestions, or the like, please feel free to comment!

God bless!

Wow ... I really haven't updated this in a while.

OK .... Once again, we're going to work on this whole blogging thing. Haha ... I'm SOOO awful at this sometimes.