Put On the Love of Christ

"where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." (Colossians 3:11-13 NKJV) There is so much hatred and unkindness in the world. Not just major things, as in wars, gangs, and other major violence...but just in everyday little things. People can be so unkind to one another, without even realizing it...hurting each other with hurtful words, actions, even looks we give each other. I think we all have snapped at someone before when we were stressed, tired, frustrated, angry, or even down. But there is so much unkindness, hatred, and hostility in the world today that we need to remember that Jesus says, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12 NKJV) He tells us ALL to be tenderhearted, kind, humble, meek, longsuffering, forgiving, and bearing one another's burdens. He doesn't just tell us, He COMMANDS us. And, if we obey God like we're supposed to, by thinking about what we say and do, and how we respond to others, then we could all become more passionate, caring, kind, and forgiving, and make this world a better place by our example. Love, Beau

Loving With Grace

"...to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." (2 Peter 1:7) God not only wants us to be kind to one another, but also to love one another as He loved us. God's nature is to love those who seem, and sometimes are, unlovable. And He does this continually without end. Are we prepared to go out into the world and love those we feel are unlovable, and then keep on loving them no matter what. How often do we get irritated and annoyed with those we claim to love, and or stop loving someone just because of something they did and or said? This is NOT the kind of love God shows us and gives us. God loved us so much that He died for us even though we were sinners. We continually screw up because we are imperfect humans. No matter what we do, what we say, and or how unlovable we are, He still loves us. That is the grace and love He shows us. If we stop short of this we fail to grow in grace, and we don't show others the kind of love He wants us to give. Being totally committed to God often means stretching ourselves out to a point we don't think we can. But, when we have totally committed ourselves, and are totally connected to Him we CAN give that kind of grace and love toward others if we work on it. Love, Beau

Take No Thought

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25) We are not supposed to worry about everyday things. And, we are not supposed to let worldy things take over and enter our lives like weeds that have taken over a garden, and choke it. If we allow the things of the world, including mundane daily living, to overtake us, we lose site of the the most important purpose of our lives. It chokes our relationship with God, and all that He has planned for us. God knows our circumstances better than we do and He's got it all under control. He tells us we are not supposed to think about these things to the point that they are a bigger priority than He is. God wants you only to focus on Him and He will handle the rest. Your relationship with God, and what He wants, is always to come first. Love, Beau

Feed My Sheep

“Feed My sheep"...."But Jesus said to them, 'They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat' And they said to Him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.' He said, 'Bring them here to Me.' Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children." (John 21:17; Matthew 14:16-21) Jesus said to feed His sheep. In The Holy Bible it often talks about phsycially feeding the multitudes, but one can also feed a person's soul and mind. In the parable of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus not only fed them physically but he first preached to them feeding their souls and minds. He took care of ALL their needs. Also, when he went to feed them physically he didn't count how many there were first and try to figure how five loaves and two fish were going to feed that many. He blessed the food and told the disciples to feed them...and there was much leftover. When we go out into world to share the word of God and tend to others we ask God to bless our work, and we don't look at how many there are and or how we're going to do it. We just tend to them, making sure that ALL their needs are met...mind, body and soul. This is what serving God is all about. Love, Beau

God With Us

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NKJV) God does not say I was with you, or I will be with you. God says He IS with us. God is always with us in the present moment, no matter where we are and or what we are going through. He's there for us in all that we say, do, and feel. There is strength in knowing we always have Him by our side helping us, cheering for us, and listening to us. Remember the last time you wished you had someone to tell something? You did and you do. God. Yeah, He already knows but it mays Him really happy when YOU share it with Him. So the next time you having something to celebrate, need a listening ear, or are just dying to tell someone something...give God that "high five," or tell HIM. He's your best friend anyway. Love Beau

(sermon idea taken from Everyday Blessings by Max Lucado.)

Truly Loving God

"And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.... He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also." (Mark 12:30; John 12:24-25 NKJV) If you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength you will not be truly attached to the things of this world. Instead, you will be ready and willing to let go of all that you have, paying more attention to your relationship with God, and follow Him. You will "lose your life" here, to have an eternal life with God. Our time on earth is only temporary anyway, so "choose whom this day you will serve." Love, Beau

(not) BEAU'S SUNDAY SERMON

This is another that was sent to me through email I thought was worth sharing. It's called "To Meet Such A Person." I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day. As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank. I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief. We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking some what halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him.. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car. Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around
the square.' Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack. I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor. 'Looking for the pastor?' I asked. 'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.' 'Have you eaten today?' 'Oh, I ate something early this morning.' 'Would you like to have lunch with me?' 'Do you have some work I could do for you?' 'No work,' I replied. 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.' 'Sure,' he replied with a smile. As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?' 'St. Louis .' 'Where you from?' 'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..' 'How long you been walking?' 'Fourteen years,' came the reply. I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.' Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought. He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God 'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.' 'Ever think of stopping?' I asked. 'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me but God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's
in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.' I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?' 'What?' 'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?' 'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.' My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.' I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked.. He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said. 'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see.' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
'Where are you headed from here?' I asked. 'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.' 'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?' 'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.' He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things. 'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.' I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you,' declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.' 'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.' 'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!' 'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked. 'A long time,' he replied And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.' 'I'll be there!' was my reply. He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?' 'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.' 'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him. Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves
neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them. Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?' Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to
see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.' (Love, Beau)