Is Anybody Out There?

After a conversation with a friend recently, I started wondering about God. Not that I'm questioning the existence of God, rather wondering how to answer others that may wonder about the existence of God. And if there is a God, does He hear our prayers and really care about us or are we as insignificant to Him as an ant hill built in a crack in the sidewalk?

I'm not going to get into a deep theological debate on the existence of God, but it is incredibly interesting that virtually all civilizations have looked to a greater being to worship and to credit for both fortune and misfortune. If it seems to be bred into man to look for a God, who put that common thought/desire into our make up?

I know that there are many out there that claim to be "atheist"--believing that no God exists. I usually just say that it's okay--God doesn't believe in atheists either! At best, many would consider the evidence of a God, a Supreme Being, a Creator, to be circumstantial. Of course, conclusive evidence would require no faith. And faith is a major element of any of the beliefs in a God.

I refuse to believe that this existence is just an exercise in futility. That at its end, we just die and it's all over. What a waste. I think that the desire to be a part of something greater than ourselves is placed in us by the God that created us. The the testimony of the Earth and everything in it points us to a Designer, a Creator, a God.
It is my hope and prayer that you will find the need to discover God and all that He has to offer. His desire is for you to know Him as He knows you.

John

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him?"
A Psalm of David

Grand and Glorious Day

Wow! What an amazing day! I have to tell you that I really enjoy my home church of Hopedale Baptist Church in Ozark, MO. I can't think of a place that I'd rather be on any given Sunday. I love just seeing the people that come on a regular basis, meeting the newcomers, and wondering what great blessing God has in store for us. We have been having baptisms pretty regularly as of late and had a man accept Jesus as his Savior today. Our Sunday school attendance has grown from around 200 at the beginning of the year to 283 this morning.
We are seeing new faces every week and having opportunities to minister to needs.

I believe that the greatest asset that we have as a church is an incredible belief in the power of prayer. Part of me wants to say that our greatest asset is our Pastor, but even he would admit that he wouldn't be the pastor/preacher that he is without the unceasing prayers of our family of believers.

This Sunday evening we had an additional blessing of the gospel group Poet Voices leading in worship. Greg Crowe has been here on several occasions and is always a welcome guest. The group also includes Phil Cross and Mark Lanier, both excellent singer/songwriters. Also a guest at church tonight was award winning songwriter, Gary Paxton and his wife Vicky. When you add in our own Mabe family (Branson's Baldknobbers) and their guests, we were full up with musical talent. It really was a great night of praise and worship.

If you get a chance go to http://poetvoices.com to check them out and do google search on Gary Paxton. If you get a chance to hear them, don't pass it up.

I hope that your day was as grand as mine.

John