Joel Stiff's Adventure

The frustrated saying goes, “One step forward, two steps back.”

What’s the alternative? No steps forward and two steps back?

Just keep moving forward.

I remember as a kid, determining the days of the week by Saturday morning.

Saturdays for me involved cartoons from 7 am until noon and the ABC weekend special from noon until one.

It was like a mini vacation at the end of the week.

Bugs Bunny, Johnny Quest, Speed Buggy, Laff a lympics, Snorks, Snagglepuss, Fat Albert, Huckleberry Hound, Pink Panther, Scooby Doo, Hong Kong Phooey and the list goes on.

It was a mental break from the responsibilities of life.

We still need these breaks. It doesn’t have to be cartoons, but it is necessary.

Talk to you soon. Mr. Ed is coming on.

Our teen revival has been going on for the last two nights.

We have spent the afternoons going to area schools and passing out flyers as the kids are dismissed.

We passed out a total of 500 flyers at three different schools.

As a result of our efforts, 7 people have come to church because of the flyers.

Thats 1.4%.

Of the seven who came, four of them have received Christ as Savior.

One was baptized tonight.

It’s worth every bit of expense and effort.

I was fifteen when I got saved.

It matters to each one.

Apathy – lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern

Passion – strong and barely controllable emotion

Guess which works best in the work of God.

The Bible says that this is true of the righteous. We are bold as a lion.

God’s righteous are able to be bold because we belong to Him. Nothing can get to us unless He first approves it.

We are able to be bold because we are living blamelessly. No man needs fear a mark on his character from false accusations if his life is clean.

We are able to be bold because we possess the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and He is our Savior.

Since we have all of the ingredients for boldness, we should exercise it.

Not rude, weird or belligerent. But unafraid and unashamed of who we are and what we believe.

Over the summer, I have noticed two area churches that used to have Baptist in their name, remove the title.

I do not know the reason for either of the changes and do not presume to know. I do read a great deal regarding church growth and ministry work and realize that many are dropping a denominational adjective from the name in an effort to draw more people.

If there is a change in doctrinal position, I wholeheartedly agree that the title should be dropped. There is no sense in maintaining a title that no longer describes the church’s stance.

If it is solely for the purpose of attracting new people to a church, it is a bit dishonest to change the name. By doing so, it is indicated that the church no longer adheres to the position it once proudly and vocally held.

Then there is the question of whom we are trying to attract. If a church is in the business of going after Christians, it is in the wrong business. Now, people who are already saved do come and visit our church from time to time. We welcome them and desire to help them find a church home if they are without one. This is true whether it is ours or somewhere else. But our primary purpose for existing is not to draw in saved people. It is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved. It is not to play musical churches with those who are never happy wherever they end up. It is to find new converts to become disciples of Jesus. So if changing my church name to attract Christians is my goal, I have the wrong goal. I cannot remember ever helping a lost person come to Christ who was later upset to find out I was Baptist.

If I change my name but do not change my position and I attract someone because the name change leads them to believe I have changed my position, I have mislead them. We will not be able to walk together because we are not agreed.

There is also the matter of confusion. The words Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Unitarian and Catholic all define stances of biblical position and methodology. By removing the definition of my position I am creating confusion. God is not the author of confusion nor does He participate in it. If I participate in it, I am ungodly.

It always helps to put the label on the can. Then it’s not a surprise when we go to prepare dinner.

I received an email last night from one of our ladies named Marian. She is ninety-four years old and sharp as a tac. She and her daughter live together. She works at a general store within her facility and she emails me almost weekly. Her prayer list grows longer consistently because she hasn’t removed anyone in decades.

So I get this email from her thanking me for the morning message. She says I taught her some things that she had never known or heard before. Now mind you, she has been saved most of her life, faithful to church every week and even served as a missionary for numbers of years in South America. And I taught her something.

How could I? I am less than half her age. I have less than half her life experience. I have never served Jesus on a foreign field. Yet, I taught her something.

Here is the key. The key isn’t that I have anything to teach. The key is that Marian is always looking to learn. She is hungry for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. She keeps her eyes and ears open and seeks truth.

That’s why Marian has made it to ninety-four and there seems to be no stopping her now.

I heard a man say once that everyone knows something I do not know. I must probe until I find it. Hence, all men are my teachers.

Sure beats being a know it all.

That is the title and has been for some time of the jokes section of Reader’s Digest.

It comes from the Bible verse that says a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

It’s been a long day that began at 7:00 AM and lasted until 10:30 PM.

But I’m feeling great. I have done nothing but laugh all day long.

Nothing like laughing with good friends to make one feel better.

Our family has some friends coming into town today.

Friends we haven’t seen for a few years. We still communicate via email, text and phone calls, but it’s not the same.

There is something about sitting across a table and sharing a meal with friends.

We look to be enjoying time with them for the next three days.

I’m grateful for good friends. I have many.

I also try to be a friend to many.

Proverbs 25:25: As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

I hear these words used frequently. I use them frequently.

I’m not sure they are always being used appropriately.

On one hand, can chocolate chip cookies be amazing? Sure.

Is every chocolate chip cookie amazing? Absolutely not.

These terms are often used to draw us to certain articles or web pages. The result is usually much less than breathtaking.

The first time we enjoy something, it is often amazing. The next time, not as much.

I heard one man say that the first time we see the Rocky Mountains we enjoy them because of what they are. The second time we see them, we enjoy them because of what we are.

The first few weeks on a job, we are so grateful for the opportunity to have it. Soon, we can become critical and ungrateful.

The same couple that looked into one another’s eyes at the wedding altar say the meanest things months down the road.

Truly amazing things have to be appreciated by character.

Hype is false advertising.