The Watchman The Watchman Exalting our blessed savior and his wonderful Word! Articles
The Peace of a Real Salvation
2008-06-10 06:01:00 I was raised in a Christian home. My father has been a pastor since I was five years old. At that time I had seen a lot of people get saved and all I knew about it was thateveryone ought to get saved, people getting saved made my mom and dad real happy, and when people got saved they went to the front of the auditorium, prayed, and then they were saved!I thought, "Hey! I can do that!" So I did. I went forward, prayed the prayer everyone prayed when they got saved, and then excitedly told my parents that "I got saved!" My mom and dad gave me a funny look and said, "oh, that's nice." and dropped it. That was very wise of them. They never told me, "Now you're saved!"Years later, we went to a showing at a church nearby of some movies about the end times. The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming back, and that He will come like a thief. This knowledge convicted me because I knew that if I did not prepare for His coming, I would be left alone. This thought really gripped my imagination. ... More About: Peace , Salvation , Testimony , Real
Broken to Beautiful
2008-06-09 06:01:00 When I was really little,About the age of three or four,I would get really scared,When I'd hear a slamming door.Mom and Dad would yell a lot,Us kids never understood,We knew that there were problems,And we'd have fixed them if we could.They never got along you see,It's God's love that they did lack,So when they did split up,Dad said I won't be back.My mom worked with a Christian,Who asked her to come to church,My mom said I'll try it,Since nothing else has worked.When my mom went that day,And she fully realized,That she was a rotten sinner,She let that old man die.Now that she was saved,She began to really pray,That God would bring her husband home,For good and there to stay.One day when my Daddy called,About a few weeks later,He said that he was on his way,To file a divorcement paper.Mom then went into her room,To pray to God in Heaven,About what Daddy said,And about the situation.The next thing that we knew,Dad was walking through the door,He said that he was home,They neede... More About: Beautiful , Testimony , Broken
Lovers of Their Own Selves
2008-06-08 06:01:00 In 2 Timothy 3, God gave Paul a list to characterize ?the last days?, or as it is also referred to, ?perilous times?. The first trait written was that people would be lovers of their own selves: ?For men shall be lovers of their own selves?? (vs. 2). People in the last days would be known as being fond of self, or having self-love, i.e. selfish.Now we can clearly see that this selfishness, this self-love, is normal in the human heart. In fact, it shows itself in a person as soon as that person is able to express himself! For example, no one has to teach a cute, cuddly, little baby how to throw a temper tantrum to get his own way. That selfishness comes naturally.So what does a people, a society, a nation do to curb this selfishness in the individual? Well, a healthy society will impose restraints on this self-love. It will recognize the need to teach children respect for authority, such as with their parents at home, their teachers at school, their preachers at church, and with the ... More About: Lovers
Updating the Style at the Baptist Muse
2008-06-04 06:01:00 Many of you have probably noticed that I haven't been on the forum or commenting on the blog much this week. I am working on massively overhauling the style and file systems here at The Baptist Muse . The organization of this site is completing chaotic due to the fact that I really didn't know what I was doing when I got started. I am know trying to remedy that by revamping the theme and moving some files around. Starting tomorrow or Thursday, you will probably see some strange things here. By Saturday, I should have the updates complete and then be able to jump back into the swing of things. Thank you for all of your support! More About: Style
A Turn for the Miraculous
2008-06-03 06:01:00 I did not grow up in a Christian home. My family never even attended a church service all my years of growing up. I think I went to one wedding that was held in a church but I'm not even sure about that. When I was a little girl I was riding down the road with my dad and I remember looking out the window and asking my dad if there was a God. He told me he thought there was but that was all he told me. It wasn't util I moved to Georgia that I even heard the name of Jesus. I'm not sure if you have ever met or heard of anyone that had gone 24 years of their life without hearing the name of Jesus...but you have heard of someone now. I had given birth to my third child and a friend of mine's pastor made a visit to our apartment one day to talk to me. All he told me was that Jesus died for me and that He was how I would get to Heaven. After talking with me for a few minutes he asked me if I wanted to go to Heaven. Well....what person doesn't want to? So he told me to repeat a prayer ... More About: Testimony , Turn
From the Church of Rome to the Family of God
2008-06-02 06:01:00 I was raised in the Roman Catholic church in an all catholic town in Northern Maine. My father was an alcoholic and my mother a devout catholic. I was also a devout catholic and was even taught catechism in the CCD program. I married my high school sweetheart in 1974 and moved to the Northern Virginia area.After six years of a failed marriage, knowing I could not get divorced (remember, this was the 70's and divorce was still frowned on by the catholic church), I decided that suicide was the only answer. I was "in love" with someone else who did not even know that I existed and life seemed too much to bear!My best friend from Maine came to visit Virginia during her vacation. She had become this "born again" Christian and I had warned her not to "preach to me." However, the Lord had quite different plans for me. During her visit, we discussed the "end times." I had a great interest in Nostradamus and the future. I was so afraid to go through the horrible times that these so-called p... More About: Church , Family , Rome , Testimony , The Church
New Feature: Referrals For Cash!
2008-06-01 06:01:00 Here at The Baptist Muse Forums, I am very excited to announce a brand new feature: referrals. When a new user registers, they will now be given the opportunity to enter the name of the person who recommended that they join.This is exciting for one main reason: CA$H! I am going to pay $2.00 per referral to the top five referrers in the month of June. That means that if you refer ten people and you are one of the top five referrers then you just won a twenty dollar bill!Write an article at your blog, send emails to your friends, tell your friends and family at church, or do whatever. Simply get people to sign up and post at the Forums at the Baptist Muse and you will have a chance to win $2.00 per referral!*IMPORTANT!!: Be sure to instruct your friends to put your forum user name into the appropriate box labeled "Referred By." If this is not done they will not count.Payment options include Paypal, Amazon gift card or snail-mail check.P.S. The winner of our free book for this p... More About: Feature , Cash
God's Simple Plan of Salvation
2008-05-31 06:01:00 My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again."In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. "For the wages [payment] of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal seperation from God in Hell."...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement" (Hebrews 9:27).But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear ... More About: Salvation , Simple Plan , Simple , Plan
Share Your Testimony!
2008-05-29 06:01:00 Well, my wife and I have just posted out testimony here at The Baptist Muse over the past week or so and we would like to extend an open invitation to everyone else to do the same. If you are saved...then we want to hear about it. Let us know when you got saved and how the Lord has been working in your life. You don't have to be a great writer. Just be saved and we want to hear about it. Just email your testimony to me or submit on the contact page and I will feature it as an article right here on the Blog page! So what are you waiting for? Let's get the word out about what God has done in your life! More About: Share , Testimony
About the Founder of The Baptist Muse
2008-05-28 06:01:00 I was raised in Amboy, IL, a small rural community in the northern part of the state. I was raised by my father as a single child until I was thirteen years old. It was during that time, that I received Christ as a young child at vacation Bible school at the First Baptist Church in Amboy, IL.I lived with my father only until I was thirteen because he was a very violent man. He was a very hard drinker and often succumbed to very violent fits of anger. He was abusive both mentally and physically. My childhood was anything but easy.Due to these difficult circumstances in my home, it was at that time that my Aunt and Uncle adopted me into their family. When that transaction took place, I gained two brothers and one sister. I also later found out that my mother remarried and had two daughters who I have yet to meet.From the time I was in the eighth grade until the time that I graduated high school, I had the privilege of attending small private schools. During my freshm... More About: Founder , Muse , Testimony
My Testimony: Looking Back at the Grace of God (Part 3)
2008-05-27 06:01:00 The church eventually grew and we purchased a building downtown. The building was an old double movie theatre. I used to laugh and tell my friends that I went to the movies three times a week. They would look at me and then I would explain about the building. While in the youth group one summer we had a youth revival. The man preached a message called ?Don?t Let the Light Go Out?. The sermon was on hell. He had all of the lights off in the auditorium except for one flashing red light. Since our building used to be a theatre there were no windows in the auditorium. It was pitch black. In the background while he was preaching he was playing a tape of people screaming in pain, it sounded like people were falling, and being tortured or in serious pain which was the point. The sound was to be people in hell crying out for relief. At the end of the sermon he shut the light off which represented us dying without Christ and at death we didn?t have any more chances to come to Christ. I felt ... More About: Grace , Back , Testimony , Part , Part 3
A Memorial Day Tribute
2008-05-26 06:01:00 Memorial Day is set aside for us to remember those who have died defending our great country. It was first proclaimed by General John Logan on May 5, 1868. The first Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868. Flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at our own Arlington National Cemetery.But do we need an official day to honor those precious souls who have defended our nation? Should our gratitude be set aside for just one day a year? Sadly, this is true for many Americans.I can remember the early years of my childhood where anyone serving in the military was revered and appreciated for his contribution. We all wore the little poppy flower on our lapels to show our gratitude for those who gave unselfishly for our country. What a sight it was to sit in church and see everyone wearing these little poppy flowers. Later, we would attend the Memorial Day Parade and our war Veterans would be marching and everyone would wave their little American flag, clap ... More About: American History , Patriotism , Memorial Day , Memorial , Tribute
My Testimony: Looking Back At The Grace of God (Part 2)
2008-05-24 06:01:00 The man knocked on our door and introduced himself as Pastor Brad Cranston. He was the pastor of a church that was recently started and was meeting at the local community college on Sundays and in his home on Wednesdays. The church was an Independent, fundamental, KJV only Baptist Church. He invited us to church and we started attending in the next few weeks.On August 22, 1992 Pastor Brad Cranston came into our home and led me through a prayer in our living room. I didn?t get baptized right away because we had to go to another church to use their baptistery. In October of 1992 Heritage Baptist Church was established and I was a part of the founding day. I remember signing the member roll.For a while my pastor worked a second job to support his family and the small congregation. I can remember going to church and it was the pastor?s family, my family and a hand full of others. One of the jobs my pastor did on the side was to be a substitute bus driver. The year that I was in thir... More About: Grace , Back , Testimony , Part , Looking Back
My Testimony: A Look Back at the Grace of God (Part 1)
2008-05-23 06:01:00 I have been in church almost every day of my life since I was born. I attended Riverside Baptist Church until I was about three years old. Sometime before I turned three my mom came home from work to find another woman leaving her house. This woman was having an affair with my biological father. As a result, my mom and my biological father were divorced sometime before I was three. Shortly after, my mother married Gary, now my stepfather, on the day after Christmas in 1986. Gary took on the role of a father to my older brother Dean, who would have been 10, and to me. He loved us as if we were his own children. At the time that they were married, Gary had three children of his own living with him. He also had four other children, one whom he had adopted. We attended the First Southern Baptist Church from 1986 until the summer of 1992. The Southern Baptist Church did preach salvation, however they did not believe in standing for the King James Version or in a biblical separation of... More About: Grace , Back , Testimony , Part
Addicted To God (Part 4)
2008-05-21 06:01:00 We Must Always Be Growing Our Desire For God!It is sad that there are Christians reading this who have only been saved for a few months or a few years who have more excitement and desire to be used of God than those who have been saved for many years.It is sad that there are Christians reading who have been saved out of wicked sin who are more excited about being used of God than those who have enjoyed growing up in Christian families or who have enjoyed having a good family for some time now.I was saved as a young child. I have been saved for over fifteen years, but it?s time right now for me to be more excited about serving God and having God do a work in my life than I have ever been.There are those who struggle with addictions. They struggle with a desire to smoke a cigarette that is so strong they can?t break that habit. They struggle with a desire to drink another sip of alcohol. Those desires have been fed for years and now they struggle to break those desires and those habi... More About: Part , Addicted
Addicted To God (Part 3)
2008-05-20 06:01:00 How Bad Do You Want God To Do A Work In Your Life?My question for you today is, ?How bad do you want God to do a work in your life??There are two types of desires:Flippant desires- where we would like to have something but aren?t willing to allow our life to change in order to get it.Life changing desires- where we would be willing to do anything to fulfill that desire.A desire is only as strong as the action it produces.When I ask you how bad you want God to work in your life, I am not asking how much you feel like it would be a neat thing. I am asking how much your life is being transformed by the thought of God being real in your life. How much of your time is consumed thinking about God? How much of your time is consumed reading the Bible? How much of your time is consumed praying? How much of your time is consumed fighting against sin? How much of your time is spent feeding the desire to have God in your life or don?t you? Do you just spend your time living for the flesh and fe... More About: Part , Part 3 , Addicted
The Weekly Book Give Away!
2008-05-19 06:01:00 Three weeks ago, we re-introduced a weekly book giveaway here at The Baptist Muse. This coming week, we will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Wonderful Names of Our Wonderful Lord' by Charles E. Hurlburt and T.C. Horton. We have been allowing every comment at the Forums to count as a ticket in a drawing to determine who wins the free weekly book give away. The contests begin at Saturday noon and end exactly seven days later. This week will be no different. Jump right in and get involved over at the Forums and you might just win a free book! The winner of last week's book is Jeff, also known as 'JeffTheBaptist' from Ashland, KY ! Congratulations you have a brand new copy of 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs' coming your way! More About: Give , Weekly
Addicted To God (Part 2)
2008-05-18 06:01:00 “Now there is...a pool, which is called...Bethesda...And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ~ John 5:1-5They beg the doctor for a solution, but in those days there was no solution. Jacob would have to live his life without legs. Now in those days there was no state aid. There were no wheelchairs. At the age of one year old he had been condemned never to be wed, never to have a family, and never to understand any of the joys of society but only to live life as a cripple.Finally after growing up as a cripple, he hears of this miraculous pool called Bethesda. It was said that an angel would come down from heaven and stir the water there. It was said that whoever would step in the water would be healed of any disease or illness that they had. I can imagine as this man’s eyes light up. He gets some friends to carry him to this pool and he begins to wait for the stirring of the water.But when he arrives he is saddened to find that there are many p... More About: Part , Addicted
Addicted To God (Part 1)
2008-05-17 06:01:00 ?Now there is...a pool, which is called...Bethesda...And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ~ John 5:1-5Todd and Amy have two children, Alex and Garret. They love them and they do their best to provide for them. And when the news comes that Amy is pregnant with a third child they are both overjoyed. They are as excited as ever to know that they will soon have another child. After eagerly and painstakingly waiting nine months they are blessed with a beautiful baby boy. He is healthy. He is strong. He is everything they wanted in a child. They name him Jacob. They take Jacob home and begin to take care of him. Throughout the months to follow they watch as he develops as the other two children had done.But after several months they begin to notice a problem. You see Jacob has a problem with his legs. They bow out in a peculiar way and Todd and Amy get worried. They take their child and they go the doctor?s office to see what the problem might be. W... More About: Part , Addicted
Our Three Year Anniversary
2008-05-16 06:01:00 During the summer of 2004 I had the opportunity to work on summer staff at Cedar River Baptist Camp. I was on summer break from college and felt the Lord working in my life that I would not be going back to school in the fall and that I shouldn?t go home for the summer. I called my pastor and he counseled me not to stay at the school during the summer but that I should work on staff at the camp. There were two other girls from my church working there that summer. I went and worked at the camp. My desire that summer was to serve the Lord and allow him to work in my life. While working at the camp that summer I prayed that God would give me a clear direction as to what I was to do in the fall. After being at the camp for about three weeks I got moved to the office to assist my very dear friend Karie. After moving to the office I felt the Lord leading me to stay on staff at the camp after summer was over and not go back to college. I prayed about this and counseled with my pastor and t... More About: Anniversary , Year
Parenting that Pleases the Father
2008-05-15 06:01:00 The story you are about to read is true and - sad to say - probably happens more often than we realize or would even like to believe. The episode took place in Target and had a profound effect upon me. I was shopping for a birthday present to give a little girl. Quite naturally, I was in the toy section browsing through isle-after-isle of stuffed animals, action figures, dolls, and games trying to make the perfect selection for a near perfect little girl. Right near the "boy's toys" two women, with a little boy in their shopping cart, were carrying on a conversation. They were loud and unpleasant and as I paused at the end of their isle I saw the boy's mother backhand him across the face?hard. She cursed at him (the likes of which are too embarrassing to record in this writing) and told him never to pull on her jacket again. He couldn't have been more than three-years-old and burst into uncontrollable tears.She continued to publicly berate him as I stood there with my jaw dropped... More About: Parenting , Father
The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 2)
2008-05-14 06:01:00 The issue in the minds of most liberal women is the idea of equality. They feel that to be a housewife is a disgrace and that they should not have to subject themselves to that low degree. They feel that the position of housewife is a lower position and that they should not have any more responsibility to fulfill that role than should the husband. The problem they have is that the look at the proper Biblical role of women as a lesser position and the workforce as a higher position. This is twisted, corrupted thinking. The Biblical pattern provides for the care and love of women. It provides for them to be honored and exalted. Yet the modernist looks at it as the opposite. The workforce is a hard place and a hard path to go. It is a place that the husband should not want the wife to have to lower herself to. If God leads then the husband and wife will go that direction but usually God does not lead in that way and the husband should have a desire to deliver his wife from having to l... More About: American History , Home , Part , Modern , Contribution
The Feminist Movement and its Contribution to the Modern Home (Part 1)
2008-05-13 06:01:00 At the founding of America the home was the most important thing in a person?s life. Men bleed and died in order to prepare a land where they, their families, and their posterity could live in freedom and prosperity. They fought with their lives to protect and prosper their children, wives?? their families. Men worked hard to provide for the home, often working far more than eight hour shifts, far more than five days a week, far more than is the norm today. Women of the day were exalted, loved, and taken care of. These women loved their families and counted it a great honor to raise and rear children with godly principles of hard work and character. Women of these days didn?t look at being a housewife as a chore, but as a privilege. They loved their children to the point that they wanted to give all that they had to see them grow up to be men and women of character for the next generation.God?s design for the home is very similar to the way of life that was the accepted norm for the... More About: American History , Home , Part , Modern , Contribution
The Hope of a Nation
2008-05-12 06:01:00 When Nehemiah heard of the conditions in Jerusalem, he was immediately stirred in his heart. In fact, by all accounts, Nehemiah's heart was broken and he literally mourned and wept at the state that his homeland was now in. You see, there were small groups of people who had been in Jerusalem trying to repair certain parts of the city. Instead of seeing progress, however, they were laughed at, ridiculed, and held up from their task. In fact, their opposition knocked the wall down and burned the gates. The nation of Israel was in derision. Nehemiah was right to be heart broken.And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. ~ Nehemiah 1:3God's people were laughed at and their great city, their great accomplishments were torn to the ground. Today America is in the same condition. Our great landmarks of American hi... More About: American History , Patriotism , Nation , Hope
The Weekly Book Give Away!
2008-05-11 06:01:00 A couple of weeks ago, I re-introduced a weekly book giveaway here at The Baptist Muse. This coming week, we will be giving away a brand new copy of 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs.' We have been allowing every comment at the Forums to count as a ticket in a drawing to determine who wins the free weekly book give away. The contests begin at Saturday noon and end exactly seven days later. This week will be no different. Jump right in and get involved over at the Forums and you might just win a free book! The winner of last week's book is Baptist Brethren from Burlington, IA! Congratulations you have a brand new copy of '199 Treasures of Wisdom in Talking With God' coming your way!Just use the contact button at the top of the page to send me your information and I will get you book shipped right out to you. Congratulations!Product Description: This Christian classic tells the stories of brave men and women who were martyred for their faith in the fourteenth through sixteenth centu... More About: Give , Weekly
My Ten Year Adoption Anniversary
2008-05-10 05:23:00 On May 9, 1998, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Janelle adopted me into their family rescuing me from an abusive father and giving me a loving family. This was exactly ten years ago today. I struggled with a lot of things growing up including rebellion and resentment over my childhood. These folks who had no reason to help me continued to love me no matter what. This is a poem that I wrote in honor of their sacrifice.Thank You by Nicholas Z. CardotIn Honor of James and Janelle DelhotalThere comes a time in every life when trials fill the soul,And all around no help is seen as heartaches take their toll.Nowhere it seems can he escape whose life is plagued with hurt,And the pains that fill that life of gloom, no joys come to avert,When all around on every hand only struggles can be found.And though that life would like to sing, the heart seems chained and bound.Downward ever falling, that life would soon lose hope,Distresses seem to hang that life at the end of no small rope.Some men when they ... More About: Anniversary , Adoption , Year
Is the World Comfortably Abiding in Your House?
2008-05-07 06:01:00 A stubbornly resistant cold/virus has held me housebound for nearly a week now. Because there's not much else I can do but rest, I've had time to surf through cyberspace, and to scroll through the blogs of other Christian women. It's been wonderful to see the threads of Christian virtue woven through the writings of so many good ladies and young women. It's always a good thing to try and imagine what you would do should the Lord Jesus Christ stop in for an unannounced visit. It helps to assess what one has in her home and whether or not it should remain there.Yet I am troubled... troubled by a book. A book that I've seen highly praised by those who have read it and by those who have only heard about it yet cannot wait for a quite moment to sink their minds into its pages.Many blogs I've seen have posted a picture of the book's front cover; and as soon as I saw its title I determined in my heart not to buy it and not to read it, ever! Maybe the information stored within its ch... More About: House , World , Book Review , The World
Falling in Love With Him...Again
2008-05-06 06:01:00 After our first date things only went up hill in the relationship between my wife and I. We began to talk more. We spent more time together. We got to know each other, and eventually we fell in love. After a while we reached a point where we were totally infatuated with one another (that is the stage that we have now been in for the past three years!). When we stepped into that stage of our courtship a new aspect of our relationship emerged. We now went out of our way trying to make the other person happy. I wanted to know what restaurants she liked, what foods she liked, what colors she liked, what kinds of clothes she liked, and everything else that she liked. I then took that information and would take her to restaurants, buy her teddy bears, buy her flowers, buy her clothes, etc. I wanted to do whatever I could to make her happy.It became my goal to try to find out what she wanted and then get it for her. Believe me, this was easy. My wife had such a small desire for... More About: Love
Your First Date With God
2008-05-05 06:01:00 I remember the day that I took my wife on our first date. It was in early July of 2004. We went to Wal-Mart and the mall and I was able to get her something to eat at the food court. As we walked around through the various stores, I had a difficult time thinking of what to talk about. I was nervous and most of our conversation was what I would now consider to be small talk. I couldn't think of what to say. I couldn't tell what products we should go look at. I couldn't decide if my hands should be at my side or in my pockets.The entire time that we wondered around, I knew that I was attracted to her and I wondered if their was any mutual feeling or if she was just tolerating me. I wondered if she had any feelings for me and if she would want to go on another date or if this would be the last that I would see of her.To make conversation I would ask her silly questions like 'When is your birthday?' Then I would say that my dad's birthday is that same month. I would ask ...
Rewards, Updates, and Growth!
More articles from this author:2008-05-04 06:01:00 Well, last week I decided to begin promoting the forum page of The Baptist Muse by offering a free book to a randomly selected person who left comments there. Since last week's announcement, we have received close to four hundred comments over there. Needless to say, the forum is beginning to develop into quite the growing community. In fact, if you haven't been by there yet, then hop to it because this week we are going to do it again! Every comment over at the forum will be worth one chance to win our book for next week. I will be giving out the same book as last week, '199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking With God' by Andrew Murray. So hurry up, head on over, and get involved!Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Congratulations! The winner of last week's contest is the user by the name of 'Media Missionary!' Just use the contact button at the top of the page to send me your information and I will get you book shipped right out to you. Congratulations!This week, we will again... More About: Updates , Growth , Rewards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
|
 |
|
 |
