Every time we have a church business meeting, I encourage all church members to attend in order to hear about what is going on in the different facets of church life. It is important to keep up to date with what our church board is doing and to see how you can better fit into church life.

   However, for our next quarterly business meeting on October 20, I am pleading with you to stay after church and attend the meeting. Our Vision Team has been meeting for the past several months and is ready to present to the church what the Lord has laid on our hearts to be our goals for 2014. To emphasize the work of the Vision Team, we are going to hold off on the regular Team reports and stick to only pressing business items and Vision Team presentation.

   As we do every time this year, we will present the proposed church budget and the proposed slate of officers and board members for the coming year. You will have time to review and pray about those things until we meet again in November to approve those items. There may be a few other decisions to make such as voting on members, but otherwise, we will save the team reports until the November meeting and stick mainly to the Vision Team Presentation. That way, the meeting should not take too long, and you can get home to your usual Sunday afternoon schedule.

   To make this easier for you, lunch will be provided in the Fellowship Hall right after church and then the meeting will take place downstairs. Soul Revolution, our youth group will be providing the meal. To help raise money for future mission trips, your generous donations for the meal would be greatly appreciated.

   God has new and challenging things in store for Spinning Road Baptist Church. Our Vision Team, consisting of Glen Baldwin, Bud Koogler, Merry Standridge, Lydia Standridge, Mary Ann Stemley, Simon Warwick and me, has truly felt the leading of the Holy Spirit as He has directed us to develop these goals and we are excited about making our presentation. You will be asked to be in prayer about the presentation and then, as a church body, to approve and adopt these goals at the November meeting.

   Please make every effort to be in attendance at this important lunch and meeting, right after church, on October 20. See you there!

                                                                                            With love,
                                                                                             Pastor Scott

   Steve Winger from Lubbock Texas, writes about his last college test- a final in a logic class known for its difficult exams:

      To help us on our test, the professor told us we could bring as much information to the exam as we could fit on a piece of notebook paper. Most students crammed as many facts as possible on their 8½ x 11 inch sheet of paper.

     But one student walked into class, put a piece of notebook paper on the floor, and had an advanced logic student stand on the paper. The advanced logic student told him everything he needed to know. He was the only student to receive an A.

     The ultimate final exam will come when we stand before God and He asks, “Why should I let you in?” On our own we cannot pass that exam. But we have Someone who will stand in for us, if we ask Him to.

    Jesus Christ is not only the righteous One who can be the  Substitute for the requirements of our sin, but He is the omniscient One who can teach us what we need to know about living a holy life and pleasing our Heavenly Father.

    Let us point the way to Him for all those who think they already know enough or who think they are righteous on their own. And let us place all our hope and trust in the perfect righteousness of our Savior and Lord.

With Love,

Pastor Scott

   A former police officer tells of the tactics of roving bands of thieves: They enter the store as a group, and the others start a loud commotion in another section of the store. This grabs the attention of the clerks and customers. As all eyes are turned to the disturbance, the accomplices fill their pockets with merchandise and cash, leaving before anyone suspects.

   Hours, sometimes even days later, the victimized merchant realizes things are missing and call the police. Too late.

   How often this effective strategy is used by our enemy, the devil, who like a thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. We are seduced into paying attention to distractions around us, while evil agents ransack our lives.

   What is it that is distracting you today? It may be something trivial, but which has become important to you that it causes you to forget the most important things in life. Hobbies, interests, social media or other relaxing diversions (which we all need), can sometimes take over too much of our time and attention.

   Or it may be something very important that needs to be taken care of and you would do well to make sure it is dealt with, but still might be something to take your mind of the things off God and His will for your life. Financial issues, family matters, social commitments- all important things which occupy our daily lives, could also be used as an excuse to neglect our spiritual disciplines or commitments.

   Let us resolve to not let anything take our eyes off of Jesus and to “press on” toward that upward call.

With Love,

Pastor Scott

    In Reader’s Digest, Jim Williams of Butte, MT writes:

    I was driving too fast late one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down the window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my seven-months pregnant wife, then on our snoozing 18-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were also asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter.

   “Son,’ he said, “you can’t afford a ticket. Slow down.” And with that, he returned to his car and drove away.

   Did the man deserve a ticket? Certainly. He was guilty of breaking the law and should have been expected to pay the consequences. The law was created for the safety of that man’s family and everyone else on the road. If everyone is allowed to travel past the speed limit, there would be many more accidents and loss of life on the highways. The law is good, and fair and right.

   But sometimes mercy triumphs over the law. So it is for sinners who call out to Jesus.

  We are guilty of sin and deserve to pay the consequences of eternal separation from God. God’s laws are for our protection and made to make our lives better for us and for those we love. God’s law is good, and fair and right.

   But we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory. If it wasn’t for the mercy of God, the law would condemn each and every one of us. Thanks be to God for His merciful gift of salvation through our faith in the only One who always obeyed God’s law, our Savior Jesus. Because of Him, mercy triumphs over the law and we are saved by the grace of God.

   Let’s look for ways to extend that grace to others, not excusing sin, but offering hope through the One who gives us victory over our sin.

                                                   With love,
                                                   Pastor Scott

     We often talk about the importance of spiritual discipline. In many ways, spiritual discipline is as important spiritually as physical exercise is important physically. The Body of Christ needs to be built up and made stronger, and each individual part of the Church is needed to make that happen.

   On a television talk show, the guest was a body builder. During the interview, the host asked the guest, “Why do you develop these particular muscles?”

   The body builder simply stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from his chest to his calves. The audience applauded and cheered.

   “What do you use all those muscles for?” the host asked. Again, the muscular specimen flexed, and biceps and triceps sprouted to impressive proportions. “But what do you use those muscles for?” the host persisted. The body builder was bewildered. He didn’t have an answer other than to display his well-developed frame.

   Our spiritual exercises, such as Bible Study, prayer, reading Christian books, listening to Christian radio and music are also for a purpose. They are meant to strengthen our ability to build God’s kingdom, not simply to improve our pose before an admiring audience.

   As we seek to develop our spiritual discipline, let us make sure we are doing so for the right reasons.  

                                                                                     

                                                                              With love,
                                                                              Pastor Scott