As I get older I find myself exhibiting attitudes and beliefs very similar to my dad. He’s been in Heaven since 1995, but it still amazes me that every once in a while I’ll say something which sounds so much like him that I almost do a little double-take. “Did I actually say that? That sounded just like Dad!”
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For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14 (HCSB)
In the waters off southern Australia lives the sea dragon, a delicate fish that looks just like a torn piece of floating seaweed. Sea dragons have many elaborate, leafy extensions on their bodies, colored and shaped very much like the algae in which they lurk. They can grow up to 18 inches long. Sea Dragons are arguably the most spectacular and mysterious of all ocean fish. Though close relatives of sea horses, sea dragons have larger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds. Sea dragons feed on plankton, larval fishes and small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids (“sea lice”), sucking up their prey in their small mouths. God designed the sea dragon so that it would be able to feed itself, but this is a good object lesson to us of the ways that Satan disguises himself to make his tactics even more effective. Many times his work is all the more effective because he hides himself. Think about it: if we were always aware that Satan was behind a thought or action, we certainly would avoid it. We wouldn’t say those things which spring into our minds, and we would be more careful about where we allow our minds to roam. In those cases and many more, his work is much more powerful because we are unaware that he is at work. Sadly, however, just being aware of Satan doesn’t prevent us from coming under his influence. As believers in Christ, we never have to be afraid of him, but we should always be wary of anything he might attempt to gain leverage over us. Just as the sea dragon hides itself by appearing to be floating seaweed, Satan hides himself in the things we would be unlikely to consider. The Bible tells us how we can escape the pull that Satan can have on our lives, but it only offers one solution. It has nothing to do with our own ingenuity or cleverness. The answer is found in James 4:7– “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” If we submit to God in all things, it won’t matter what Satan looks like or where he tries to hide. --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com All three sons of a widow took up the life of seafaring men, to her great disappointment. She was telling a neighbor that she didn’t understand why. The visitor pointed to a painting hanging in the dining room and asked, “How long have you had that picture hanging there?”
The woman replied, “Oh, for years—ever since the children were small.” The visitor said, “There’s your answer.” That painting on the dining room wall, where it would be seen every day at every meal, depicted a large sailing ship, with sails billowing in the wind, its bow cutting sharply through the waves. Without a word ever being said, that painting had exposed those three boys to the allure of the ocean. The intellectual development of a child is influenced by intellectual stimulation. For example, I really enjoy reading. I attribute that love for reading to the fact that when I was a child, my father surrounded us boys with books. I did the same with my children. In the same way, a child’s spiritual development is influenced by spiritual stimulation. If parents are sensitive to this area, they will provide opportunities for their children to be exposed to things, events, books, activities, friends and anything else which will help the child develop spiritually. Neil Armstrong made history on July 21, 1969, when he became the first person to set foot on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin followed him shortly thereafter. For two hours, 31 minutes and 40 seconds those two astronauts were outside their Eagle lunar module, walking on the surface of the Moon in an area called The Sea of Tranquility. There have been a total of twelve people who have walked on the Moon. The Moon does not have weather like we do here on the Earth; there is no wind or rain, and no erosion. Experts say that the footprints of those twelve men will be visible on the Moon for almost as long as there is a Moon! Those astronauts certainly left their mark! But we have to ask, “What kind of mark are we leaving for eternity? In the lives of others? In the hearts and lives of our children?” Our children need to be able to study the ways of God as revealed in the Scriptures, and for long, long years to come, be able to see our “footprints” as we followed our Savior. This week we will have an opportunity to leave footprints in the lives of children in our area, through Vacation Bible School. If you have not volunteered, please consider it! Regardless, pray that we will leave marks on the lives of these children for Christ, marks which will last for eternity. --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com Eddie Rickenbacker once said, “Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.”
There have been many times in my ministry that I was under conviction to preach a certain message which I knew beyond doubt would not be received very well. Perhaps the church was facing an important decision, or there was a disruption in the fellowship, or a heresy was gaining strength and needed to be addressed. I have argued with God many times, asking Him if He was really sure that’s what He wanted! Once or twice, I’ve even tried to prepare other sermons instead, all the while knowing that was not what God desired. One week many years ago, I even had the sermon completed, the manuscript neatly typed and lying on my desk. God woke me up early that Sunday morning, with such a burden that I had to get up, go to my study before dawn, and prepare the message He had wanted in the first place. On those occasions, it wasn’t that I thought I knew better. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what to say. It was that I was afraid–plain and simple. I was afraid of the consequences, afraid of what the powerful families in the church would think, say or do. So, if you adhere to Eddie Rickenbacker’s definition of courage quoted above, on that day at least, I was courageous. I was afraid, and with much fear and trembling had begged God not to make me do it. But I preached it anyway. Yes, there were consequences which had to be reckoned with, but God provided. The patriarchs of the Old Testament possessed this courage. The prophets possessed it, the apostles possessed it, and uncounted millions of believers have possessed it through the years in quietness and strength. Courage is what enabled Jesus to plead with God in the garden, “If it is possible, take this cup from me,” yet go to the cross anyway. To stand before a group of people and declare with love and compassion, “Thus saith the Lord,” is not always an easy thing to do–especially when the people who hear it may not want to hear it at all. To speak out against gossip, hatred, greed, lust, immorality in all its forms, etc., knowing very well that all will not agree, is courage at its best. The same is true for all of us. We each have those times when we must obey Him regardless of the consequences. So argue with God if you must, but in the end, obey Him with courage. --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com Have you ever noticed how many times those who know the Bible the least, and spend the least amount of time studying it, seem to know so much about it? Take celebrities for example. In many cases, all that is required is that the celebrity has an opinion about it. It doesn’t really matter that he or she has never been exposed to sound Biblical teaching, or has any other credentials that would qualify him or her to make such statements.
The subject of Heaven and Jesus being the Only Way is just one of those topics which we frequently hear them pontificating on. They will boldly declare that Jesus can’t possibly be the “only way.” And the audience applauds. I agree that there are “many ways,” but they all need to be asking where those ways take them. Only one road takes us to Heaven. How do we know this? Because the Bible says so. And if I believe what the Bible says about that, then I’ve got to believe what it says about my sin and my eternal destination unless I repent and turn to Christ. There’s an old story about a motorcycle mechanic who was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop. The surgeon had come in so the mechanic could take a look at his bike. The mechanic shouted across the garage, “Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?” The surgeon walked over to the mechanic. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, “So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take valves out, fix ‘em, put ‘em back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?” The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic... “Try it with the engine running.” Just because the mechanic could repair a motorcycle engine did not mean that he could perform open-heart surgery. The lesson is that just because I’ve made a movie, or thrown a few touchdowns, or even won an election, does not mean that I am qualified to give a definitive word on what the Bible says about Heaven or how to be saved. I am certainly not saying that the only ones qualified to comment about the Bible or even have an opinion about it are preachers and Bible scholars. But when it comes to commenting on spiritual matters, shouldn’t we at least be familiar with what the Scripture says? Shouldn’t we question the source of our information before blindly believing anything that comes across the airwaves or in an email? Not everything we hear is true, and we should all be careful about what we believe. --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.
John 1:4, HCSB Two young girls were visiting their grandfather at the funeral home he owned in a small Michigan town. As you can imagine, there wasn’t a lot there to keep the interest of two small girls! So, looking for something to do, they decided to set up a lemonade stand. Finally, they came with an idea–a wonderful idea! With a great deal of excitement, the sisters dragged some wooden crates from the garage, got some lemonade from their mother, and went into business. Two full hours went by as they sat in the summer heat–but not one person stopped to buy a drink from them. After a little while, they were ready to give up. With disappointment, the girls finally complained to their mother, who came outside to check things out. When she saw the stand, everything suddenly made sense. Printed on each of the girls’ crates were the words: “Embalming Fluid.” The problem was not the lemonade, nor was it with the girls themselves. The problem was that they were sending out the wrong message. They were communicating something to potential customers which effectively drove them away. In our roles as followers of Christ, we know there’s nothing wrong with our message if we stay faithful to the Word of God. The problem may be in the communication, the way we are sharing the Message. The ways we live out the Gospel of Christ may be sending the wrong message to our “customers,” those whom we are attempting to lead. Let’s take a lesson from the young sisters and make sure that the message we share reads “Life” rather than “Embalming Fluid.” --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17, HCSB Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in Germany to a family of musicians. He was orphaned by the age of ten, but through the early influence of his father, and the later guidance of his brother, he decided he would write music for the glory of God. When he was only seventeen Bach became the organist at the church in the small village of Arnstadt, and soon was placed in charge of the entire music ministry. During one period in his life he wrote, conducted, orchestrated and performed with his choir and orchestra a new cantata--every week! About two hundred of his musical compositions survive to this day, including his famous Brandenburg Concertos. But here is why I’m telling you about this: At the beginning of every one of his manuscripts there are the letters “J.J.,” which stand for “Jesu Java” (Jesus help me). And at the end of each original manuscript you can find the letters “S.D.G.,” a reference to “Soli Deo Gloria” (glory to God alone). We may not be composing music but those seem like good attitudes to begin and end each twelve month period of our lives. When we are beginning a new year, let us write at the top of it, “Jesu Java—Jesus Help Me.” Through the days, weeks and months which follow, let us live in light of the fact that Jesus is with us, just as He said He would be, and that He provides us with the strength we need for living. At the end of the year, will we be able to look back and add “Soli Deo Gloria—glory to God alone” to our experiences and endeavors of the year? But this won’t happen by accident or “just because.” Frankly, the only way to be able to do that is to walk with Him and live for Him as a conscious, determined effort. So write “Jesus help me” across the beginning of your new year, so that you can write, “glory to God alone” across the end of it. –Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com The last two weeks of October 1962 saw the United States and the Soviet Union embroiled in a verbal conflict which was dangerously close to an all-out nuclear war. The Soviet Union had placed missiles on the small island of Cuba, just ninety miles from the United States. These missiles were capable of striking most of our continent. Historians dubbed this escalating tension the “Cuban Missile Crisis.” A man named Noel Regney was walking the streets of Manhattan one day, thinking about that situation, and worried about what it might mean for his country. A World War II veteran, Noel knew what it was like to face this kind of fear, and he was terrified. Born in France, he had studied music at Strasbourg Conservatory. But when Hitler’s troops invaded France, Noel was forcibly drafted into the German army. He personally witnessed war and watched many men die. He was shot and received minor injuries, and soon deserted the German army and lived with the French underground until the war ended. Noel immigrated to the United States in 1952 and was soon conducting music for many early TV shows and wrote commercial jingles for radio. A record producer had asked him to write a Christmas song but he had refused, saying that Christmas had become too commercialized and he didn’t want to add anything to the problem. But as he walked home that day, he noticed two mothers pushing their babies in strollers down the street. He watched as the two babies smiled at each other, and his mood changed. He began to think about babies and lambs, and by the time he made it home, he had written the lyrics of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” in his head. “Do You Hear What I Hear?” became a Christmas classic, and has been recorded by Perry Como, Robert Goulet, Susan Boyle and Andy Williams and many others in more than 120 versions. Bing Crosby’s version alone has sold more than one million copies. But considering the events which were current in Noel’s time, and considering the extreme danger the U.S. was in at the time, the words “Listen to what I say, pray for peace, people everywhere” seem to have special importance. It was a plea that everyone everywhere should pray for peace. No less should that be our prayer in 2015. The message of Christmas has many facets: love, forgiveness, reconciliation, home, family, etc. One very important aspect of Christmas is peace. But we should understand that the kind of peace our world needs today cannot be found in a treaty, military might or even at the ballot box. It can only be found at the altar. Unless we have peace with God we can never have peace with men. Let us kneel in worship before the Prince of Peace this year, and “pray for peace, people everywhere.” –Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com 2.8 billion. 1.75 million. 275,000. 14,000. $12,352. $77.20
Numbers. Sometimes we tend to dismiss numbers as being insignificant, but each of the numbers on this page tell a very important story. Take a look at them. Nearly 2.8 billion people in the world still have no realistic access to the Gospel. That figure seems a little overwhelming, and even though the darkness seems overpowering, we are still called to light the darkness. Last year, missionaries with our International Mission Board reported that 1.75 million people heard a Gospel witness through their efforts. As a result, 275,000 became followers of Jesus. To assist in their growth, 14,000 new churches were formed. How is all this accomplished? Such an undertaking requires a lot of people, and a lot of money. That’s where you and I come in. Our Cooperative Program, as we work with other Southern Baptist Churches, provides only 31% of the funds necessary to do this great work. The bulk of the resources (58%) comes from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions (LMCO). The next figure in our list above is $12,352. That’s the number of dollars we at Utica Baptist Church gave last year to the cause of Christ through the LMCO. That translates to $77.20 per person. That might not sound like much, but here is where I want to brag on you a little bit. There are more than 50,000 Southern Baptist churches across our country. Of that number, only two percent gave over $16.4 million to this offering. We were one of them! But that’s last year’s news. And while it is quite an accomplishment, that money has already been spent to support our missionaries, build hospitals and churches, dig water wells, provide security and survival training, distribute Bibles (print and audio), job training and refugee assistance. The work is ongoing, and that is why we must continue to give–and give sacrificially–to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Our goal this year is again $12,000. Please pray about how God wants you to participate in this so that someone you will never meet here on earth can have the opportunity of knowing Christ–the way you do. --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com Frank Stratemeyer may hold a record for pseudonyms used by an author. He authored books in the Hardy Boys series as Franklin W. Dixon, the Bobbsey Twins books using the name Laura Lee Hope, the early Nancy Drew mysteries as Carolyn Keene and the Tom Swift books using the pseudonym Victor Appleton. A busy fellow! But most of those monikers were only fake, used to identify his writing in different styles. The Scriptures give several names for our Savior, all of them very real. Bread of Life, Author of Salvation, Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, King, Man of Sorrows, Morning Star, Root of David, Rock, Resurrection and Life—those are just a few! The angel told Joseph that he was to give the Baby the name “Jesus,” because He would “save His people from their sins.” Most often today He is referred to as Lord Jesus Christ, and we honor Him and worship Him. But there was another name Isaiah told us about which has special significance for us as we celebrate the Christmas season: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). When Matthew reported this, he also provided an interpretation of the name “Immanuel”—he said it meant “God with us.” And He really is! In our days of uncertainty, pain, and darkness, there is beautiful life and light! God Himself has entered into human history to become one of us, to share our sorrows as well as our joys, to walk alongside us and strengthen us along this journey. But not only that! He came to be with us so that we might have complete forgiveness of our sins—not just the ones everyone else has forgotten about, and not just the little ones. He is with us to completely and forever wipe out our sins and restore us to fellowship with Almighty God, King of the Universe. What an amazing thought this is! When we could do nothing to save ourselves, God the Father became God the Son in the form of Jesus, to be with us. And we know Him by many different names. So whether you know Him best as Jesus, or Savior, or Only Begotten Son, or Lamb of God, and whatever situation you find yourself in, please know this: He Is With You. --Rocky Henriques, www.timothyreport.com |
PastorDr. Rocky Henriques is the Pastor of Utica Baptist Church in Utica, Mississippi. Archives
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