Coming to the Still Waters

  I am grateful for many things and people and even during a year like 2020 but a reoccurring one is pictured above.  I can't think of going into a community and not making friends with the ministers of the Gospel.  I always wish I could spend more time with them but church demands on both sides keep all of us pretty busy.  A chat here, a message there, and sometimes a meal together are so precious to me.  These men hold down the fort in DownEast Maine.  I will miss them in the near future but may God bless them all as faithfully proclaim God's gospel. I thought I would share in this post what I delivered at the taping of gathering.  We gathered in a small church, the Holmes Bay Baptist Church, and dissected the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.  Ministers speaking to ministers needs to happen more often.  My charge was the fruit of self control. Self Control I was so thankful that I got the easy one!  (said with a lot of tongue and cheek) The KJV translates it &q

  As we go through the Acts of the Apostles, I have been on the look out for the 4 pillars of the first century church and also those first converts to Christianity.  We are introduced to them in Acts 2:42.  The new converts and collective church were devoted to the:  1) teaching of the apostles, 2) fellowship of the family of God, 3) worship of God, and 4) prayers.  The by-product of the 4 pillars is service to one another.  These 4 pillars are actually stated again in Acts 2:46-47.   This response comes after Peter's opening sermon on the Day of Pentecost and it is in light of the new Christians and church "having favor with all the people." The next time they appear is in Acts 3:27-34.  The church is gathered for prayer; the prayer includes worship of God; it is stated they were of one heart and soul; and the testimony of the apostles was increasing in power.  The by-product of service is stated with "there was not a needy person among them."  This siting of

  Ode to a man who this labor of love defined.  He had a love for his wife, his family, his country (see the flag up the drive), his church, and his Lord.  A father named Craig spent time with one of his daughters dragging around railroad ties to make a statement to those passing by this piece of property.  If you turn in, you are coming up a driveway were love reigns.  I am sure there are many who have stopped and will stop to have their photo taken by the "love sign."   The bit of "normalcy" in a year of uncertainty was realized by me standing by a grave yesterday.  Three saints of our congregation have passed away since COVID-19 has hit our country.  None died because of COVID-19 to my knowledge but the virus definitely affected this family affair when a loved one passes on.  We have adjusted our morning worship services to accommodate a remembrance of the brother or sister in Christ so people can reflect on their spiritual impact on their lives.  This last one

  This is the pile of paper and in the midst of those 94 resumes was the person that God wanted us to meet.  This stack represents a weekly meeting from late in February to last night, early in November.  It represents hours of listening to sermons, pouring over answers to doctrinal questions, and searching online connections.  Some moved on to different levels of engagement but one emerged to go through the whole process, #55.  His name is Zach Vaughn and he is the next pastor of the Machias Valley Baptist Church! He will be arriving with his beautiful family in January and I will be leaving the great state of Maine.  His heart for God and the Bible is evident and his love for God's people displays that he has the heart of a pastor.  He is a team player and the relationships he has already built with the elders will go far to advance the progress that has already been implemented through the transition team, elder team, and the members of this church.  The IPM 5 stage process was