The Watchman The Watchman Exalting our blessed savior and his wonderful Word! Articles
Join The Team - Write At The Baptist Muse
2008-05-02 07:01:00 I proposed the idea of having guest bloggers for the first time two months ago. Initially, I had a great response. Several people volunteered to write articles here and every article received was an excellent piece of literature. Recently, however, very few people have been interested in this idea. This is my attempt to revitalize that idea. I would love to have a whole bunch of people who would be willing to write an article at certain intervals. Maybe you could write once or twice a month. Great! I would love to move this website away from a 'Nicholas Cardot' theme and more into a community theme. I want this website to be all about you. You don't have to be the best writer in the world. Be passionate. Be honest. Be real. We'll publish your work and give you the recognition you deserve!If you are reading this article ?Write For Us? , it?s probably because you are interested in writing for The Baptist Muse. Great! :) I would like to develop a team of writers, prea... More About: The Team , Join , Team
Site Updates To Tickle Your Fancy
2008-04-30 07:01:00 I'm really excited to announce some major updates to The Baptist Muse. Over the course of the past week, I have implemented several major and a few minor changes to this website. You will notice a new rating system for each blog post, a new rank structure at the forum, a new awards system at the forum, and the biggest update of all...an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church Directory in the resources section of the site. If you haven't taken advantage of these updates yet, be sure to check them out.Forum Rank and Awards SystemsIf you haven't posted anything at the Forum, what are you waiting for? The Baptist Muse Forum is a growing community where you can post questions and share thoughts about any topic in the world. And Now you will achieve rank for the more posts that you post and you can receive medals and recognition for your accomplishments through our band new awards system!You'll start out as a private but you can work your way all the way up to Five Star General! ... More About: Site , Updates , Fancy
A Lesson Learned: Persistent Prayer
2008-04-29 07:01:00 This past weekend I was able to attend a ladies retreat with five other ladies from our church. We all had a good time and it was great getting to know the other ladies better. All of us that attended were married except for one lady. By the time we came home on Saturday, we were all ready to see our husbands again and those that had children were ready to see their kids.We were in an active cabin. That was the camps way of saying that we were in a loud, noisy, crazy, etc cabin since the other cabin was quiet. We were in the right cabin though since we didn?t go to bed until very early in the morning both nights.On Thursday night after the session they divided us all up into eight different groups. The way we were divided made it rare for us to end up with someone from our church and that was the point. While getting to know the other ladies that were in our groups, we had to decorate a paper flower in a mosaic pattern. It was a lot of fun.Friday afternoon they did a craft. The cra... More About: Prayer , Lesson , Learned
Get Rewarded at The Baptist Muse
2008-04-28 07:01:00 Last week we announced the restarting of our weekly book giveaway. Last week, each member of The Baptist Muse Topsites received one entry into the drawing. I apologize that this post is one day behind schedule, but as I promised here are the results from this past week's give away! Congratulations, Maranatha, your blog, 'I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes,' has won our weekly contest. Please use the contact page to notify me of your snail mail address and I will get your book shipped out right away!This week, we will be giving away a book entitled '199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking with God' by Andrew Murray. To enter this week's contest, swing by the forum section and leave some posts. Each comment at our forum will be worth one ticket toward next week's drawing!I want to encourage everyone to get involved. If you are new to The Baptist Muse or if you have been a patron here for a while then right now is the perfect time to jump in and get rewarded. Swing by our forum section ...
By the Authority of the U.S. Supreme Court
2008-04-25 07:01:00 In 1892, The Supreme Court of The United States of America declared without question that America is a Christian nation. "These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."~ U.S. Supreme CourtIn their intensely thorough declarations, they took us step by step through the history of our early American Republic and showed without doubt that their decision was not based on anything less than fact, logic, and sound precedent! They began with Columbus, the pilgrims, and the early colonies and progressed their logic through state constitutions and congressional orders. They left no stone unturned as they made a solid and irrefutable case as to the Christian founding and establishment of this great nation!In our modern society there is so much burying of history in an effort to further modern liberal agendas. In fact, many people go so far as to completely distort and rewrite ... More About: American History , Authority
Those Hate-Mongering Baptist Preachers!
2008-04-23 07:01:00 I just recently read a wonderful article over at 'The Jungle Hut' entitled creatively 'A Rant.' This article is a must read so head over and check it out. Rita Vernoy, the author of that article, is a missionary to South America. She has faithfully and selflessly served to help the people there. She works with them, lives with them, prays with them, and does everything that she can to share the gospel with them. She truly is an unsung hero...unless of course you ask a secular liberal!She has received comments recently attacking her and making statements suggesting that she is destroying these people's tribal spirituality, that she is a hate-monger, or that she is a 'spiritual pollutant.'This is not the first time that I have heard people attacked for trying to share the gospel of Christ and I assure you that it will not be the last. As early as the book of acts, men have been attacked for preaching Christ. Can't you see Stephen standing there looking into heaven askin... More About: Hate , Baptist , Preachers
Made to be His Help Meet
2008-04-22 07:01:00 As a little, I dreamed about one day meeting my prince charming and being swept off my feet the same as any other little girl. I dreamed about what he would look like. I wanted someone that was tall with dark hair and very handsome. I dreamed about him riding off into the sunset with me on a white horse, or whatever else I might fantasize the perfect get away ride would be.I planned every detail as a little girl from the perfect groom, the bridal party, the flower girl, the ring bearer, my dress, the colors and the cake. I can remember having my maid of honor picked out when I was probably 9 or 10. I really thought that she would be my maid of honor. We were inseparable for many years.As I got older, I used to wish that I would marry a soldier. It didn?t matter to me what branch. I just loved the fact that they served our country to protect the freedoms that God has given us and not to mention that there?s something to say about a man in uniform.I realized growing up that God was p... More About: Meet , Made
Leadership 101: Influence vs. Position
2008-04-21 12:17:00 Every individual is a leader. In many cases, people don't realize this but in every case this is true. Every person that you influence to do good or bad, you have led in a very small way. Of course, those who have the most influence are most often recognized as leaders but the truth is that every person impacts and leads those around them at least a little bit.Leading those around us is actually something that we ought to desire. Let me explain. We shouldn't necessarily be looking to be in charge of an organization or a committee, but we should be looking to continually be a greater influence for the cause of Christ in everything that we do. We should actively be looking for ways to very subtly leave an impact on those around us to encourage them to do right. There is a common misconception that leadership is simply being in charge of people. Being in charge of people, however, is not leadership. It is simply management. A leader is someone who can inspire people to foll... More About: Leadership , Influence , Position
Free Weekly Give Away! Get Rewarded!
2008-04-20 07:01:00 In an effort to stimulate activity at my website, I have decided to re-initiate a weekly free book giveaway contest. The book that I will be giving away this week is called "How to Pray: The Best of John Wesley on Prayer" by John Wesley. The book is brand new and is completely free to the winner of my newest competition. Entry is free and only takes about thirty seconds. In fact, several of you who are reading this are probably already entered into the drawing!I want to encourage everyone to get involved. If you are new to The Baptist Muse or if you have been a patron here for a while then right now is the perfect time to jump in and get rewarded. Get your site noticed at our Topsites section and get a chance at a free book!Product Description: "Let John Wesley guide you into a deeper prayer life. These excerpts from his prolific writings will motivate and challenge you to greater communion with God. In approximately 45 readings, Wesley explains the why and how of prayer for be... More About: Free , Give , Weekly
Are Your Friends a Bad Influence?
2008-04-19 07:01:00 Michael was a 17 year old boy who had ridden a church bus almost every Sunday for several years during his childhood and into his teen years. There were several people who had invested a lot of time and prayer into Michael?s life. At one point during his years of riding the bus, he made a confession of faith. If you talked to Michael, he could tell you about the day that he asked Christ to save him.During the summer of 2003, I got to know this young man while I was home for summer break from college. He and my brother attended the youth revival at my home church that summer. When I saw them together at the revival meetings, I made the connection that they knew each other. I made a specific effort to invest time and love in my brother and in his friends. I spent a lot of time talking and listening to them trying to lead them closer toward the things of the Lord.Back to college I went and as far as I knew Michael was still riding the bus. My brother, Brandon, had had enough of the... More About: Friends , Influence
4 Useful Things You Could Do Tomorrow
2008-04-18 14:50:00 Let's face it, there are a lot of things that each of us could do to increase our productivity and maximize our effectiveness for Christ, for our spouses, and for our employers. The following are four very practical and useful things that could be done to help us accomplish those goals. 1. Get Up EarlierTruth be told, it wouldn't hurt you to wake up a few minutes earlier. Of course, this might mean going to bed a few minutes earlier but that would probably be good for you as well. Benjamin Franklin was onto something when he said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!"It is pretty much a given that you will be able to focus on something more meaningful during the early morning hours than during the late evening. You can spend the extra time on whatever pursuit that you see fit. You can spend more time praying or maybe get in a little extra Bible reading. Perhaps you could spend some extra time talking to your spouse or to someone you love. ... More About: Things , Tomorrow
The Winner of the Tax Time Giveaway
2008-04-16 13:40:00 Last week, I announced a contest that would run until Tuesday, April 15...Yesterday! That contest is now officially over and I am very excited to announce our two winners. One of these winners has been chosen because they earned the most points in our contest and the other winner was chosen randomly using each point earned as a chance to win. Our two recipients will be the proud owners of a ten-dollar gift certificate to any store of their choice!I am very pleased to announce that the individual with the most points and the winner of our first gift certificate is Sis. Tori all the way across the globe working with and supporting her husband as missionaries in Croatia. The second winner whose name was drawn at random using each of their points as a ticket in a drawing is Bro. Tim who is now pastoring in Johnstown Baptist Church in Lake Butler, Florida. Congratulations to our two winners.To receive your gift certificate, either email me or use the contact form on the contact page... More About: Time , Winner
Something Special for the One You Love
2008-04-15 07:30:00 Are there ever days when you want to do something little and sweet for your spouse but you just don?t know what to do? I know that I?ve not been married all that long. It will be three years next month but there have been days that I wanted to do something special for my husband but I wasn?t sure what to do. Should I go out and buy a gift, should I do a candy gram, should I hide from him when he is coming in the door after a long day at work and the list could go on. There are several things that you can do for your spouse. It doesn?t always have to be something that the wife does for the husband. You husbands can do something for you wife as well!Shortly after my husband and I were married we received this list in the young couples Sunday school class. I have done some of these things and they are really quite simple and a lot of fun. I hope that this list will give you some ideas to try and maybe you have already done some of these already.I have my favorite picture of my husb... More About: Love , Special
I Got My Roadmap! Do You?
2008-04-14 07:25:00 Have you ever gone on vacation without the roadmap? Drives you nuts in short order, doesn?t it? You stop at the first gas station and pick one up and whoever is sitting in the navigator?s seat gets to studiously mark out the route. Or if you are lucky enough to have one of the newer vehicles equipped with navigation tools would you consider leaving home without having it hooked up ready to go? Probably not!I recall a weekend road trip that a friend and I took during college. On Thursday after noon, we left when class dismissed in Lexington, KY with the intention of driving shifts through the night until we arrived early morning at our destination in Letts, IA. We planned to take Interstate 74 through central IL all the way into IA. Too easy.Because I had made the trip several times before (my girlfriend lived there at the time), I didn't think that I needed to take a roadmap. Yet sure enough, around two or three in the morning we began seeing signs for Chicago. "Chicago: 50 Mi...
A Lesson in Old-Fashioned American Patriotism
2008-04-12 21:32:00 I once heard a preacher tell of an incident that he lived through as a child. His father was a veteran of World War II. In fact, his father had been forced to endure the Baton Death March and was held prisoner by the Japanese for a long period of time.One day when our preacher friend was about ten years old, he and his father went to enjoy the great American past-time. They went to watch a baseball game. As the game was gearing up to begin, the announcer came online and introduced the singer who would be performing the national anthem. As the singer moved toward the microphone, the crowd stood to honor the flag and the anthem. The entire crowd took to their feet except for a few small groups of disrespectful people...A small group of men who were seated directly in front of our preacher and his father, continued goofing and carrying on as before. As the anthem sounded throughout the stadium, these men refused to show any signs of respect or courtesy.The preacher's father was i... More About: American History , Patriotism , Lesson , Old Fashioned
How to Deal With Life's Malfunctions
2008-04-12 03:04:00 On July 16, 2007 I stepped out the door of an in-flight airplane for the first time in my life. As soon as the status light turned green and I launched myself out the rear side door of the plane, I knew that I had entered into an adventure both exciting and scary. I felt the rush of two-hundred mile-per-hour winds pushing against my body sending me twisting and turning through the air.My first jump was my worst. I had a poor body position on my first exit which resulted in a parachute malfunction. Although my parachute deployed, my lines were twisted and the canopy wasn't fully expanded. I was headed toward the ground faster than the soldiers around me.My first thought was that I was going to die on my first jump. That thought quickly disappeared, however, as my training kicked in. I remembered being drilled and prepped repeatedly for this moment. Since day one, we had studied corrective procedures for partial and full malfunctions. This was only a minor malfunction. I kne... More About: Deal
The Causes of the 'Great Recession'
2008-04-10 12:20:00 Recently in the news there has been a lot of talk about the 'recession' that America is entering into. In fact, a British news agency has referred to America as entering into another 'great depression.' The housing market has crashed and foreclosures are at an all time high. The financial markets have crashed. The price of oil and gasoline has been skyrocketing and the 'experts' are predicting that it will continue in that direction. Inflation is racing forward as the price of milk, wheat, and other staple items continue to rise.Then the fingers are pointed. Democrats point to the policies of president Bush. Republicans point to the fact that the Democrats have controlled congress and should have legislated a solution to this long before now. The media blames the banks and the mortgage brokers calling them names like 'predators' and 'sharks.' Some have even blamed the media claiming that their announcement of a recession has created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pe... More About: Finances , Great , Recession
Joyfully Caring For God's Children
2008-04-09 12:53:00 Two weeks ago there were revival meetings going on at our church in Alexandria VA. Evangelist Dwight Smith was preaching. During the week several different ladies were scheduled to be in nursery. On Thursday night, one of the ladies that was scheduled said that she would rather not be in the nursery. I volunteered to take her spot since I love being in the nursery as it is my desire to have children someday.The lady that I volunteered to do nursery for looked at me like I had lost my mind. When I told her that I loved being around kids and being in the nursery, she still looked at me like I was crazy. This is an area that God has allowed me to be in since I was a young child. It is a very important ministry to the mom?s in the local church. That lady ended up doing nursery that night. I was also still in the nursery because they needed extra help and the ladies in charge of our church nursery had already taken turns and been in there during the revival meetings. While I was playing ... More About: Children
Tax Relief At The Baptist Muse
2008-04-08 08:00:00 Tax time is upon us. Here at The Baptist Muse , I understand the financial crunch that tax time imposes on our lives. That is exactly why I have decided to offer a little bit of green to the winner of my newest contest. In fact, I am going to give a ten dollar gift certificate to the store of your choosing to two different winners on Tuesday, April 15, 2008. You can consider that to be tax relief at the Baptist Muse.All right, here?s the rules. I will select two winners. One winner will be the individual who has accumulated the most raw points. So if you can earn 50 points and the next guy only has 40?you are ten dollars richer. The second winner will be drawn at random, using each point as a ticket in a drawing. If you have fifty tickets, you will have fifty chances to win while the next guy in our example with forty points will only have forty chances to win.Grab As Many Points As You Can?And Here?s HowLeave Comments: 1 Point ? Leave up to five comments per post and you re... More About: Relief
The Testimony of a Praying Wife
2008-04-07 08:00:00 This is a precious promise from the Lord, and one that is personal to me, as I claimed the verse for my husband"s salvation."Delight thyself also in the LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." ~ Psalm 37:4Let me start my story from the beginning of my relationship with Jim. I was sixteen years old, attended church, and participated in my youth group, having been saved at the age of nine at church camp. Although I went to church and enjoyed the company of my friends there, I was still very much a baby Christian.Jim was eighteen and had graduated high school the year before in a nearby town. I knew he was unsaved, but I thought he probably would get saved soon. He attended church with me once or twice, but soon I stopped attending myself. I preferred to have my time free to spend with Jim. We married two days after my nineteenth birthday. From that time I determined to be a "good" wife and although I was not living for the Lord, He blessed us with three beautiful chi... More About: Wife , Testimony
A Sunday Morning Surprise
2008-04-06 20:50:00 This morning when I arrived at church, one of my friends approached me and asked if I could teach the Sunday School lesson for the teenagers. "Of Course!" I replied and I reached down into my Bible for my notes from this week's "A Tale of Two Kings" lessons that I have been posting here at the blog. They weren't there. Before I left for church, I had cleaned out all of the excess papers from my Bible."Oh, well!" I thought. I'll just teach the lesson from memory. And so I did. A couple of times, I stumbled looking for the exact verse, but the teenagers actually helped out and worked with me. The lesson went great and the teenagers paid attention really well.One of the reasons that I maintain this blog is because I am not always able to preach as often as I would like. By reading, studying, and writing articles for The Baptist Muse, I am forced to stay on my toes in this area. I am able to preach through writing and I am able to exercise my preparation skills. Then, when... More About: Morning , Sunday morning
The Sunday Funnies
2008-04-06 08:00:00 This post is a collection of a few of the things that had me laughing this week. I hope they bring a little bit of joy to each of you as well. Happy Sunday !Shards O' Glass PopsiclesThe Nobel Peace Pies!Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds."7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."8. Don t use any punctuation9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat with a serious face.11. Specify That You... More About: Funnies
First-Rate Christian Wallpaper
2008-04-05 18:09:00 This page is a collection of christian wallpapers that I have been and am continuing to collect from around the internet. I am contantly looking for more images to add to the collection so please email me any pictures that I could add to this collection. Thank you in advance. More About: Christian , Wallpaper , Rate
Storybook Love
2008-04-05 05:25:00 This is an image I made from a photograph of my wife. Isn't she beautiful? More About: Love
A Tale of Two Kings: David's Response
2008-04-05 05:05:00 Hello and welcome back to day three of our adventure through the lives of King Saul and King David. This is part three in a four part series entitled ?A Tale of Two Kings .? Lord willing, I will be posting the fourth and final installment of this lesson on Monday. If you haven?t already done so, I highly recommend that you read the first two posts so that you can gain a greater understanding of what we are discussing today:Day One: ?A Tale of Two Kings: The Preacher?s Rebuke?Day Two: ?A Tale of Two Kings: Saul?s Personal Response ?Finally, before we begin, I invite you to read through the passage of scripture that today?s lesson is built on: Psalm 51.On day one, we looked at the rebuke that the prophet Samuel and the prophet Nathan brought to their respective kings. We realized during that lesson that their rebuke was both personal, it was tailored specifically to their recipients, and prophetic, it was brought as an envoy on behalf of God. On day two, we looked at Saul?s person...
He Hangeth the Earth Upon Nothing
2008-04-04 04:54:00 Recently, I have been experimenting with Adobe Photoshop. This is the first desktop wallpaper that I have created. I hope to be adding some more very soon. Let me know what you think! More About: Earth
A Tale of Two Kings: Saul's Personal Response
2008-04-03 12:35:00 Hello and welcome back to day two of our adventure through the lives of King Saul and King David. This is part two in a four part series entitled “A Tale of Two Kings .” If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you read the first post, "A Tale of Two Kings: The Preacher’s Rebuke”, so that you can gain a greater understanding of what we are discussing today. Finally, before we begin, I invite you to read through this brief passage of scripture that today’s lesson is built on: I Samuel 15:15-30. In yesterday’s lesson, we saw the great sin of these two men and we began to dive into the events that followed their respective wrongdoings. The first thing that we looked at was ‘The Preacher’s Rebuke.’ We took note that it was a ‘Personal Rebuke’ designed specifically for Saul and David and that it was a ‘Prophetic Rebuke’ in that is was brought to these men on behalf of God. It is important that we jump in and try to understand each man... More About: Response
A Tale of Two Kings: The Preacher's Rebuke
2008-04-02 07:01:00 Hello and welcome to the first in a three part series entitled “A Tale of Two Kings .” Throughout this series, we will be diving into the amazing lessons learned from the lives of King David and King Saul. I invite you to read two brief passages of scripture before delving into today’s lesson: I Samuel 15:1-15 and II Samuel 12:1-7.The lives of King Saul and King David were scarred with major sin. Their lives tell the story of tragedy and despair. They both fell hard, slamming themselves against the laws of God and committing disgusting wickedness.Saul’s sin was disobedience. God had directed Saul to destroy the Amalekites and leave nothing remaining. Not a sheep, a cow, or a piece of gold was to be saved. Saul decided, however, to destroy only the garbage from the sacked city. He kept the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen. He had directly rejected God’s command clearly placing convenience above that of obedient character. This was Saul’s sin.David’s si...
The Book Club: April's Update
2008-04-01 16:23:00 I am really exited that my husband has asked me to take over the reigns of the book club here at the Baptist Muse. I love to read and can't wait to get into this month's book.The Book Club is located at the forum portion of the website. Last month we started the book club by reading "By Duty Bound" by Ezell Ware Jr. This was an excellent book dealing with two men who were enemies because of their race but then shot down over Vietnam and left alone stranded for three weeks they became brothers.The Book Club is a place for Christians to encourage one another to read and discuss books. Each month a different book will be chosen and we will work to stimulate our discussion and learning. The books will be chosen by the users of this site through a very simple process that will allow everyone to participate. To read about that process, click here.The book for April is "Because They Hate" by Brigette Gabriel. We would like to thank Kate Plourde for recommending this book. Each month ... More About: Book Review , Update
Saturday Morning Link Love
More articles from this author:2008-03-29 16:22:00 Throughout this past week, I have been blessed to enjoy revival meetings being preached by a man named Dwight Smith. Our meetings began this past Sunday and will be concluding tomorrow. Each night had a different theme. Monday was ladies night. All of the ladies had to bring visitors. Tuesday was Men's night. Wednesday was Sunday School night. The goal was to bring as many people from your Sunday school class as possible to the service. The person with the highest percentage was the winner. Thursday night was coworkers night and last night was youth night. The teenagers brought the visitors. We also had a gym night after the service that lasted until midnight. We played basketball, volleyball, and some made up games.So far, we have uploaded most of the services to our church website for download. I will link to them here and update this post with the new ones when the revival meetings are over.The Consequences of the Resurrection (Sunday Morning )Worse than Cancer (Sund... More About: Love , Link , Saturday 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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