Mt Carmel Baptist Church - Hump Day Word of the Week

June 4, 2025

Word of the Week: Comfort

Good morning Mt Carmel Baptist it’s hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self examination of our Christian walk while growing Gods kingdom. The word this week is comfort. With society as comfortable as any time in history, do you think that hurts or helps our relationship with the lord?

While at our men’s retreat last week laying on cot and looking at the stars, and beginning to get wet from the nights dew, I was reminded how comfortable most of our lives are these days. I’m also thinking that could easily affect our daily relationship with the Lord in a negative way. I know I’m guilty of spending more time in relationship with him when times are uncomfortable for me. Sickness, financial issues, complicated customers, tense times with your children, loss of loved ones, all these things tend to have me talking to the lord more than when things are going smooth and comfortable.

All these thoughts made me wonder if Satan is responsible for some of our comforts in life? I know we view him as all things negative and evil, but while I’m not sure he creates comforts for us I know he uses them to his advantage. To take advantage of us! To get in our heads, he keeps us comfortable and busy so we have no need or time to call on our creator.

I’m certain the smart phone is a tool the devil uses to comfort us and keep us busy. Social media and AI keeps us occupied with certain subjects we’re interested in while stroking our egos and backing up our personal beliefs. Then that in turn steals our time and keeps us looking down at the palm of our hands instead of looking up where our source of power and guidance truly comes from.

Most of the population in this country hardly have any prolonged life challenges. We temporarily get cold or hot, most of us say we’re starving if we just miss one meal for the day, having a poor nights sleep means we had to get out of our comfortable bed to go to the bathroom one extra time than normal. None of my friends or family have pots and pans in the floor catching rain water from a leaking roof. We’re comfortable! We set thermostats at our desired temperature and we exist in that temp year around. We have an average 200-300 channels on our television to choose from. Most of us have more than one reliable means of transportation. It’s just ridiculous how comfortable we’re as a society!

With all those comforts I believe as a whole we spend less time in relationship with our Lord and Savior. We have no excuse like generations past, but yet we still spend less time than they did building our relationship with God. Generations before us, life wasn’t comfortable, heat, cold, wet, hard work, sacrifice, hunger, worn out clothes, limited foot wear, sharing rooms with multiple siblings was all a reality but yet it seems their faith and relationship with the Lord were stronger. All those things mentioned above seem so distant, but that was the norm just 50-70 years ago.

I’m 52 and I don’t know uncomfortable, Im certainly thankful for that, but I’m certain hard times and uncomfortable situations grows your faith and relationship with the lord more than comfortable times. I don’t wish hard times on anyone, but I hope this serves as a reminder that relationship can grow during comfortable times too. We just have to make a conscious effort daily to thank our maker for all the comforts he has blessed us with, even all the comforts we take for granted. James 1:2-4 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I’m praying this week that we all spend more time in our bibles and looking up, while building and strengthening our relationship with the lord. I’m thankful the Lord has blessed me by allowing me to grow in him while in turn being comfortable most of my days. Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

May 22, 2025

Weekly Word: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

This week, enjoy another inspiring word for Billy Graham!

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told - Billy Graham

May 14, 2025

Weekly Word: Life is Short, Live for God

Good morning Mt. Carmel Baptist, it's hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self-examination of our Christian walk while growing God's kingdom. Please access the following link for a special word on Living for God by Billy Graham:

https://youtu.be/HhBNGdS5Kqk

May 7, 2025

Weekly Word: Trust - Don't Worry

Good morning Mt. Carmel Baptist, it's hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self-examination of our Christian walk while growing God's kingdom. The word this week is Trust, or Don't Worry. Please access the following link for a special word on Trusting God:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BKk9QmMSf/?mibextid=wwXIfr

April 30, 2025

Weekly Word: Google

I often think Google is a more commonly used word than God these days. I always hear and sometimes use the phrase myself, just ask Google. It’s pretty sad that we sometimes trust a man made human programed device more than our creator. Just ask Google how the earth was created? That answer alone should have us questioning Google and its answers.

I think we ask Google instead of God for several reasons. The first is we want answers immediately, right now, fast and in a hurry! We are impatient people living in a fast paced society that likes things now, and we want instant gratification. Who has time to wait!? We can get on our phones and have whatever our hearts desire, often times the same day. We want answers and we want them now!

Secondly we can normally keep asking in way that gives us the answer we want to hear. How rude it is these days to be told something that we don’t agree with, it’s almost unacceptable! We can have a disagreement and delete a longtime friend from our friends list, and replace them with a new friend in a matter of few minutes. No need to have a friend that doesn’t agree with a hundred percent of our philosophy on life. It’s amazing to me how many people want to be told what they want to hear. I’ve lost more customers the last several years by telling them a product or material they like will not work for their specific scenario. Someone down the road will sugar coat or perhaps lie to them just to make the sale. People seem to get insulted by the truth, and they just want what they want. Sometimes our questions aren’t that easily answered and often it takes patience, time, and persistence to get the answers and results we’re looking for. Sometimes it takes even longer to get the answers God has for us, but it’s always 100% worth the wait.

Psalm 34: 4 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.”

I think the main reason we ask Google and not God is because relationship is work. To get the answers that God wants us to have takes work, time, commitment, persistence, dedication, patience, trust, and often times just plain faith. Google gives us an answer in seconds! Along with our relationship with God and trusting him, he’s also given us the Bible with his inspired word that has all the answers to any question we might have. I’m guilty of not reading my Bible enough and looking to his word for my answers. We should be reading our bibles daily while patiently waiting on God for answers to all our questions. The Bible really is an incredible tool for us to navigate life while here on earth. I’m so thankful that the lord gifted us with his inspired word and left us the Holy Spirit for us to use while we’re waiting on our eternal promise and reward of heaven.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

I know that most of the time we use Google for simple common solutions and answers that are reliable and quick. I think whats concerning about us asking Google for answers so often, is we get programmed for quick responses and solutions which can affect our relationship and dependence with the Lord. We ask Google a question then sometimes we get distracted, and start going down rabbit holes that often times eats up our family time as well as our personal one on one time with the Lord. I think Google can be a good tool just like a lot of technology and social media, but when we start taking away that faith building, relationship building time we need with God, it can be detrimental. I’ll argue there’s no better feeling than asking God for answers, and staying patient, persistent, and faithful through the process and watching him work on your behalf. I’m definitely not saying Google is the devil, but my prayer for all of us is that we start and continue to ask God more about our decisions big and small than a device or search engine that doesn’t even acknowledge that our God created the earth.

Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I’m praying this week that we all spend more time in our bibles building and strengthening our relationship with the Lord. By doing so maybe the answers to our questions come quickly and precisely leaving no doubt that the lord orchestrated all of them. Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

April 23, 2025

Weekly Word: New Growth

I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors lately and while doing so it’s hard not notice all the new growth. The grass is greening up, wild flowers starting to bloom, trees are budding and sprouting new leaves, garden seeds have sprouted and started growing. It’s a beautiful time of year! Not only is it appealing to the eyes, but expectations are high, it’s an exciting time of year, anticipating how much fruit, vegetables, and growth will be produced over the next few months, or even the years to come. It seems as humans we love watching new creation, and its journey of growth and production. With that said it reminds me of when we become saved and how our Christian rebirth relates and compares to the spring season and others.

Before someone makes the decision to follow Christ and receive the gift of salvation they’re dead or at best dormant, maybe not physically dead, but spiritually dead. They resemble the brown grass or the dormant brown dull oak tree and fruit trees, that look lifeless and are just taking up space in the midst of winter. Without the decision to become saved and have the Holy Spirit living inside us we’re really a non producer a non contributor. You can be a good employee, business owner, a good mother or father, but I’ll argue when you become saved you’ll be better at all those things and at all things in general! It’s a fact, when you have God living inside you, you’ll be better at whatever you’re doing than God not living inside of you.

When we receive Christ and ask him into hearts we should then become like the new growth described in the first paragraph. A new growth of pure beauty, filled with excitement, and ready to produce and contribute to society in a way that we’ve never experienced before. Even if we don’t know what to say or how to completely act yet people should see we’re different right away. Our actions and attitude once saved should look like that first hint of green grass, or that little bud that will flower then turn to leaves, and eventually produce fruit, no longer looking like a dormant dead tree. Because up till now and until receiving Christ we’ve been dormant, we’ve been existing but not producing much fruit or beauty for everyone around us to see.

Unfortunately just like the seasons that come and go even long time Christian’s sometimes become dormant, dead, and looking lifeless. We go through our own seasons and sometimes forget the joy and excitement we once had when we first believed. The good news for us is God has given us the ability to control what season we’re currently in. We don’t have to wait three to six months for warm weather to trigger our rebirth, we can choose that now, he’s given us the same powers as Jesus, we just have to decide and then choose what season we’re currently in. No matter of our circumstances we should reflect the beauty and excitement of the spring season and with that it should give people around us hope and excitement. With our gift of salvation and the powers of the Holy Spirit working through us, it should be impossible for us to reflect as dormant lifeless looking fruit tree instead of a newly blooming fruit tree getting ready to produce bushels of delicious life sustaining fruit for all to enjoy. I know we reflect better to others when we’re in a season of blooming and producing than when we’re dormant and looking lifeless. So let’s choose our season and bloom and produce fruit that hopefully leads others to Christ. Let’s choose to be set apart and different like scripture says! 1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but arenow the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I praying this week while looking at all the spring beauty God has blessed us with, you’ll also be reminded that each day we have the ability to choose our own season and bring the same joy and excitement to those around us! Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

April 16, 2025

Word of the Week: Giving/tithing

Good morning Mt Carmel Baptist it’s hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self examination of our Christian walk while growing Gods kingdom. The word this week is giving/tithing. As Christians do we have to give/tithe? Why should we give and is there any physical or material benefits we get from giving? What are some things other than money we can give?

One evening measuring a job after hours in my late twenties, I had a customer and friend that challenged me to try to out give God. I did finally accept his challenge and that has turned out to be some of the best advice I’ve ever been given. He also said it doesn’t just have to be with your money, it can be quite time, prayer time, service to the community, helping neighbors, basically just listening to the Holy Spirit and being obedient to what he tells you to do. It seems anytime I’ve obeyed God especially when I thought it was going to be inconvenient for me to do so, I was always rewarded and blessed more by that situation than the person or organization I was trying to be a blessing to. Proverbs 11:24-25:
"One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Although we should not just give to receive, we should give with a joyful heart because as Christians that’s what we’re called to do. Whatever it is we’re giving is not ours anyway, it belongs to the Lord, and he is just trusting us with it while we’re here on earth. Most people believe that tithing is about giving money or material things but it’s more than just that. The very breath in our lungs, and our heart beat doesn’t really belong to us, both are granted to us by the Lord. If you have air in your lungs and a beating heart you’re capable of giving something. We can give encouragement, hope, and inspiration to people around us daily. That all starts with listening to Holy Spirit and allowing him to direct us in those situations in our lives. I know when it seems like I don’t have time for prayer or my quiet time with God, and life is so busy that I really can’t get anything accomplished, that’s when I can slow down make time for him, and it seems he gives more time to complete the tasks at hand. Whatever I give he seems to give me more of!

Although tithing is more than just giving 10% of our income and it includes all those things mentioned above, I believe we still should give at least 10% of our money to the Lord. After all it’s not ours, everything is his and he’s trusting us with it. Like Jerry Clower said last week, if he can’t trust you to do what’s right with a little he’s sure not going to trust you with a lot. Even though I don’t give with intentions to get something back in return from God, I’m not sure there’s ever been an instance that I gave and the Lord didn’t bless me in return. Don’t miss your blessing of giving! It’s one of the most rewarding things we can do this side of heaven!
Deuteronomy 15:10:
"Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to"

Lastly we don’t have to give to receive salvation and our eternity in Heaven, but why wouldn’t you feel inspired to give? This very week we celebrate Easter and we all know what that represents. Jesus hung, suffered, and died on a cross for humanity’s sins, all sin, past present, and future, mine, yours, and those to come. He paid it all! He’s resurrection three days afterwards gives us life for eternity if we just believe, pretty simple! Jesus gave us everything he had, so with that said no matter even if we’re checking that box of ten percent we probably could always give a little bit more. Let’s pray about our giving and let God direct us in whatever direction we may be lacking in.

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I’m praying this week you’ll be blessed by an opportunity to give, or receive a blessing by someone that seized the opportunity to give. Don’t miss your blessing by not giving there’s so many ways and opportunities for us to give! Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

April 2, 2025

Word of the Week: Closet Clean Out

Good morning Mt Carmel Baptist it’s hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self examination of our Christian walk while growing Gods kingdom. This week's word is more of statement and or question. While hanging my winter jackets up this last week I had a thought, will I even be around next winter to wear these jackets again? If not who will clean my closet out when I’m gone, and do they know I love them? For those of us that have had to empty the closet of a loved one or close friend that passed on know the emotions of doing so…sadness, happiness, memories of night outs, and family events. Just looking at those familiar clothes just brings so many memories and emotions back to the surface. It can certainly be a daunting task under the best of circumstances.

My question for you today, the person’s closet you might be tasked with to clean out one day, do or did they know you loved them? My next question is for those left to empty your closet one day, do they know you love them? Someday someone will empty your closet, for that person or persons doing so what memory or main emotion do you hope they have? For myself I’ve had the task of cleaning out a spouses closet, and I hope for you the feeling is one of no regrets. No matter if you’re the one doing the cleaning or it’s your closet that might be being cleaned out, we all have the opportunity now to make sure neither party feels no regrets. Leave no stone unturned and tell that person or persons you love them! Make any wrongs right and ask for forgiveness and forgive if it’s necessary! Do everything in your power possible to make sure both parties have no regrets! 1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

With that said the biggest regret we could have is if the person cleaning out your closet doesn’t know the Lord, and or the friend or family members closet you’re cleaning out doesn’t know the Lord. It’s not up to us to save them nor do we have the power to do so, but it’s our job to plant the seeds and then let the Holy Spirit work. What a regret it would be to have friend or family member so close to us that they’re cleaning your closet out or you’re cleaning theirs out and yet you never shared the Gospel with them.

The simple fact is someone will clean your closet out one day. It’s up to us now to set the stage for what that main emotion might be when that time comes. For me I hope they feel happiness, joy, and love while boxing up my 34” waist wranglers I wore in my early twenty’s and that still hangs in my closet today. But most of all I want them to feel peace and hope in knowing we will see each other again real soon in Heaven. While we still have breath in our lungs we shouldn’t waste any opportunity to share the gospel. Be the hands and feet of Jesus and go and tell! Matthew 28:19-20 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I encourage you to do what’s necessary to make sure that those cleaning out your closet not only know the love you have for them, but more importantly know the love Jesus has for them. Let’s share the gospel with someone this week! Love y’all and hope y’all have a great hump day and rest of the week!

March 26, 2025

Word of the Week: Hostility

Good morning Mt Carmel Baptist it’s hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self examination of our Christian walk while growing Gods kingdom. The word this week is hostility. Have you ever been the subject of a hostile act or have you responded to someone with hostility?

Hostility is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and nearly one hundred percent of the time it’s in a negative manner or fashion, as Christian’s when dealt with hostility were called to respond with love. The Bible says when we’re feeling hostile or someone is being hostile to us we’re to pray and petition God asking for his help and intercession. I’m not sure about y’all but when I’ve been wronged or I’m feeling hostile God is the furthest thing from my mind and heart. After all, I’m a Gressett! It’s in my DNA and that means don’t back down at any cost! I’m of course kidding and just speaking for myself, but I can promise I’ve learned from one of the very best on how to not back down, my dad. I’m learning above all though that when hostility arises there’s never a winner. It normally ends bad for both parties, and sometimes even if there’s an apology it can be hard to forgive one another after the situation is over. Words that are spoken are hard to forget, that’s why it’s super important to do our best to hold our tongue and let God handle the situation on our behalf. Proverbs 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” In today’s society we see hostile acts everywhere and often, on the highway, news, school, in ours and others homes, on social media, and sometimes even churches. By seeing this daily it makes it even easier for us to respond with hostility when opportunities arise it happens with our coworkers, employer, employees, customers, our spouse, parents, and sometimes we even show hostility to God. As Christians, if we act out in hostility to someone, that in turn is showing the same disrespect to Lord and our Christian belief. And for that I am guilty!

With hostility rampant these days let’s explore what scripture says about how we’re to act when hostility comes upon us, or when we’re getting ready to act out with hostility. It’s easier to often respond with hostility to the ones we love the most, our spouse, kids, our parents and those closest to us. We sometimes say things we can’t take back. It’s even more disgraceful when both parties are Christ followers and certainly know better. The Bible says in Romans 12:17-20 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink;For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

The Bible makes it clear how God wants us to treat hostility and with strain from hostile acts of our own. We could read and cover endless scripture on how we should respond, and be a reflection of Jesus. With all that being said I believe most importantly when we react to hostility in a manor that’s unpleasing to the Lord it reflects us as being unrighteous and out of relationship with him. We’re called as Christian’s to be a reflection of Jesus and to seek righteousness, our sins were bought and paid for with the utmost price that we cannot ever repay. God commands and ask us to model Jesus and when we accepted Christ we signed up to do so! Our old self died and new man was born! When a person is born we start at birth learning things and developing habits and traits to make us better and more efficient, we learn most of those things through our relationship with our parents. The same holds true for our relationship with the Lord, if we continue to ask him to guide us and direct us we should become a better reflection of him each day. If each morning we choose to seek the righteousness of God and don’t go with the flow, we will then become more proficient at abstaining from hostile acts and responding in a negative unpleasing manner to God. The goal everyday is to seek the righteousness of God! Jesus says in Mathew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”

I’m so thankful for Mt. Carmel Baptist for allowing me each week to write what’s on my heart, it’s truly something that allows my relationship with the Lord to grow. I need growth in all the subjects that I’ve written about, but especially this weeks word of hostility. Not only is that an ugly word, but when you allow yourself to engage in hostility, it makes you ugly as well. It tarnishes your testimony in such a negative manner. I write and choose my subject words each week because of my weakness in those areas, so I ask that you pray for me in these areas, but in turn hold me accountable for my actions and words. Love y’all and I’m so thankful for my church family!

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I praying this week when we’re faced with hostility or ready to respond with hostility that we pause, hold our tongues, and then seek the righteousness of God. Let God intercede and fight hostility on our behalf. Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

March 19, 2025

Word of the Week: Fun

The word this week is definitely directed toward me, but I’m sure someone somewhere suffers with the same issue that plagues me. Let’s look into this subject of fun from Gods eyes and see what scripture has to say about having fun. Does God want us to have fun and enjoy our earthly lives, does God even care if we have fun or not? I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but this is an area of my life that is a constant struggle for me. I have a hard time allowing myself to have fun. What I mean by that is even my hobbies, things that bring me joy, I’m so competitive that I take most of the fun out of them. I even compete against myself when there’s no other competitor involved. I do enjoy having success at things I like to do, hunting, fishing, the work place, but I normally miss all the fun along the way and during the process. I would love to get to a place in life where I could still have success, but have fun during the process. I know that I’m only going to be able to accomplish that with Gods help. I’m now 52 and it’s hard to change habits and mindsets that you’ve had for most of your life. There’s also a fine line to walk, you should want to have success at whatever it is you’re doing, but when you take the fun out of the process it then becomes a burden to you as well as your family members and friends.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.” This scripture I believe says God wants us to enjoy life and have fun and it will carry over into our jobs and tasks of our everyday lives. Definitely something I miss out on routinely. I get caught up in perfection, excellence, and simply trying to outwork all my competition which in turn steals the fun and joy of the task or hobby at hand. I know that my joy comes from the Lord and I feel my daily walk with him is the most important aspect of my life, that being said I think it is the most frustrating part, is knowing that I still can’t allow myself to have fun.

My dad was a great role model for working hard, and work ethic, but at the same time he had fun in all things life related. Now in my fifties I admire that he loved to have fun, and allowed himself too. I wish I would’ve thought to ask him how he did that before he went to heaven. All I know is that I will continue to build my relationship with the Lord by reading his word and looking for the answer to my question of why do I let the devil steal my fun?

I so admire my friends and family that don’t struggle with this issue of having fun. I look at each of you as inspiration and hope that with Gods help all of us that are dealing with this issue can take notes and implement the tools and tactics to living a fun filled life. Jesus said in John 16:22 “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” For Christian’s we’ve received our Joy when we accepted salvation and the eternal gift of life and life everlasting, but I believe with salvation not only that joy should be received in heaven but on earth as well. I know the last nine weeks of hump day word of the week seem to have been advice or instruction from myself on whatever the subject word of that week was, but this week I’m asking for tips, tactics, and prayers for all of us that struggle with living a fun filled life.

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I praying this week for all of you that are living a fun filled life and also for us that our still seeking and asking for Gods guidance. My prayer is that God grants us all the happiness, peace, and fun a person could ever ask for! Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

March 12, 2025

Word of the Week: Hope

Hope, what does that mean to you? I’m almost certain we’re all hoping for something. Is it longevity, prosperity, health, healing, a spouse, or new job? I’m almost positive I’ve hoped for all those at one time or another in my life, but I’ve learned that when I put my hope and trust in Jesus that truly is the only hope I need. When all our hope and trust is in him he is enough to sustain all our needs, wants, and desires. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Putting our hope and focus on Jesus helps distract us from all the outside noise and negativity happening around us. The negativity of the news, the gossip around the work place, and the disappointment of our family squabbles. With our hope centered in him we become dependent upon his strength and power to pull us through hard times and to keep focused on the task at hand, and that’s relationship with him. I know first hand when I center my attention on God all the days negativity seems to be less noticeable and just in the background. Romans12:12 “rejoicing in hope, patient [e] in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; “

As Christian’s our hope should be exclusively in the Lord and our eternity. No matter how bad things get our Christian belief and fondation is set upon hope. We are guaranteed life and life everlasting, only our earthly bodies will die, but we will live for eternity with our creator and brothers and sisters in Christ. That gives me great hope! Not only am I going to see my family, and loved ones again, I’m going to get eternity with them. My mind still doesn’t comprehend eternity, but I know that’s a long time!

I can’t imagine putting my hope in anything other than the Lord. No other god in any other religion has died and then been raised from the grave. We worship the only true God that has raised himself from the dead, and by believing in him we will be raised from our earthly death to Glory one day as well. That should give us all the hope we need! We should act like we are conquerors, because with God we are, we should give off an aura that separates us from the lost. We are different, we’re not defeated, we’re joint heirs to Christ! That should not only give us hope, but that should reflect off us to give those around us hope! So let’s get our relationship with the Lord strong enough to not only bring us hope, but also bring hope to those around us. Let’s be the salt and light that the Lord called us to be! Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I pray that our relationship with the lord strengthens, so we have hope in all situations, and that Christ through us can give those around us hope as well! Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

March 5, 2025

Word of the Week: Change

First of all I think most people look at change from the viewpoint of being something bad, frustrating, aggravating, annoying. And sometimes just questioning why the change, it’s been working fine this way for 10 years or more so if it’s not broke let’s don’t fix it kinda stance. Myself, I resist change of all kinds, I like my routine of doing things the same way I’ve always done them. Unfortunately that’s not real life. Sometimes change happens that’s out of our control, loss of a love one, disease and illness, growth in our community, and heaven forbid a change in worship music, or the order in which Sunday services gets conducted. Those are all things I resist, and most are just because that’s not the way we’ve done them for years. With change of any kind I think we first need to examine if there’s any potential positives that could occur from it.

That being said sometimes you can’t see the positive change in the present moment, it takes time before you can look back and reflect on what positives may have taken place. I know in my Christian walk and growth with Christ that’s been the case. I couldn’t see much change in the present but now looking back I can see how God worked in my life, and even changed me. Hopefully in a positive way! Let’s look and see what God’s word says about change and how we should embrace change as a Christian in Romans 12:2
"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think"

First and foremost I believe as Christian’s we are called to change. As soon as we accept Christ as our Lord and savior we should begin to conform and change our habits to resemble more of Jesus’s characteristics. That’s normally a process that takes time, and that will never be complete. Until we take our last breath here on earth that will and should be a process that continues. It’s a goal we all strive for but we never finish, we can act like Jesus at times and resemble some of his characteristics, but to live a sinless life is impossible. That’s why we need Jesus and what he did for us on the cross!

How do we change? We first have to examine and identify an area in our life that needs changing. For some that’s easier than others, and for some once identified it can nearly be impossible to change. Sometimes the change that’s needed may come from a problem area that has established itself for several decades or more. It could be addiction, drugs, alcohol, porn, food, gambling, those are some tough ones. Or it could be as simple as cussing, sarcasm, showing disrespect to others, or just constant bragging. God looks at all those the same no matter the degree, none are pleasing to him and are all issues that need changed.

Once we identify the area of change we need to take it to God and partner with him in relationship. Nobody wants to help us or see self improvement for us more than God does. Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Then after soliciting God for help and direction we need to celebrate the small victories and accomplishments. Sometimes those victories happen hourly and with each victory we need to thank God. No matter how big or small the victory might be. That means praise him and thank him hourly if needed, let him see and hear our appreciation for each celebrated victory. By petitioning God for help and then thanking him repeatedly after each victory that relationship begins to grow and blossom. Others then begin to notice our change, and when that happens you have just created a testimony for yourself for the whole world to witness. I think one thing that gets overlooked about our testimony is, we have a testimony no matter what, it’s either positive or negative. It’s up to us to use the situation we’ve been dealt or have created by our own free will to choose, to show the world that change in all our circumstances is possible with Gods help. The promises from God to guide and direct us are scattered throughout his word and if we just take the time to begin or develop our relationship with him he will show up for us. It’s his promise to us and the Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:8: "The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” That scripture should be of great comfort to us, and one that should encourage and inspire us to work to make whatever change necessary to please him. There’s no better feeling than pleasing Jesus!

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I pray that God gives you the strength and courage to make whatever change you need to in your life, that it will not only have a positive effect on you, but will be a positive effect for everyone that you come into contact with! Love y’all and God bless! Have a happy hump day!

February 26, 2025

Word of the Week: Peace

As Christian’s we need to know we have the ability to feel peace and have peace under all circumstances. That doesn’t mean we will be happy and comfortable under all life’s circumstances, but we still should have peace that only the Lord can bring to us. Philippians 4:7 “and the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Let’s explore some other scripture that insures and promises we can have peace in all things at all times. The first scripture is Jesus talking in John 16:7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you. The second scripture is Jesus speaking and it again supports this belief in John 15:26 “when the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. Those last two scriptures are awesome and should bring great comfort to us that Jesus will send us everything we need. The Holy Spirit is referred to as our helper, advocate, counselor, and comforter to name just a few. If you look up the definitions of helper, advocate, counselor, and comforter it’s everything we could need.

The most comforting thing about the above mentioned scriptures, those are Jesus’s words. Those are all red words and words written in red should grant us peace! When Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection he promised to send all those who believe in him the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts while here on earth. That was his gift to us to utilize while living out this life, and that should grant us all the peace we need to navigate this life before we get to our ultimate reward of living for eternity in heaven with Jesus and all our fellow believers.

Ultimately to have peace it begins with relationship, our personal relationship with our Father. It is our gift to have, but we have to act upon it and utilize it through relationship with him.

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I pray that the Holy Spirit delivers peace and understanding to you in all circumstances, and by others witnessing that peace leads them to the same understanding of having peace! Love y’all and God bless!

February 19, 2025

Word of the Week: Trials

Life’s trials and struggles are something we all deal with, no matter if we’re Christian or non Christian, unfortunately we will deal with many of life’s trials as we age. I would be willing to bet that most of us are dealing with one currently, no matter if it’s financial, sickness or disease, or loss of a loved one. We will all struggle with one or all of these during our life’s journey. That being said the only way I know to combat trials of life is, prepare for them, be ready, and the only way I know to prepare for life’s most tragic events is by having a strong relationship with the Lord. Let’s talk about strengthening our relationship with the lord and ways we can prepare for heartache and tragedy.

First it starts with faith in Christ, we have to know that whatever we are faced with that Christ has the strength and power to pull us through. Friends as Christian’s that seems so simple and basic, but that’s harder than you think when faced with the loss of a spouse or sudden loss of a child. I know for myself when suicide took my wife on 2/22/17 it shook me and my family to the core, in three days will mark the eight year anniversary of her being with Jesus, and that gives me peace. I thought at that time I had a unbreakable bond and relationship with the Lord, I guess looking back now I did, but at that very moment of loss, heartache, sadness, and sorrow I questioned everything about my relationship with the lord and his love for me. I was five hours from home when I found out about her death. I was devastated and broken. I remember during that drive having a decision to make, I had two choices, go at the rest of my life alone without God or somehow trust that the guy that had the power to stop it, but didn’t, could somehow see me and my family through this heartbreak. Thankfully I chose God!

How do we prepare? Know God is good all the time, and know there’s no greater love for us than sending your son to die on a cross for your sins. Then when you find that kind of friend, and you have the faith to know he is that friend, you start a daily or hourly relationship with him. It’s like any other relationship you might have, other than I’m willing to bet most of us have very few friends, if any, that would be willing to die for us. With our everyday earthly friends we begin our relationships by doing a few things. We first learn about one another, we talk, we think about them, we help them, we love them, we try to meet their needs, we sometimes even correct them. Bottom line we try to build bonds that we hope will become unbreakable.

The same characteristics hold true with our relationship with our Heavenly Father. God has given us all the tools we need to have that unbreakable relationship, he’s given us a direct line of communication with him through prayer, the Bible with his scripture and his word, he then sent his son to earth for us to have an example to live by, and after his resurrection and return to the father he left us the Holy Spirit. That’s a piece of him that lives inside every Christian! If you are a Christian you have God living in you, and that’s incredible friends! That’s what gets you through life’s struggles and tragedies! I’m not saying you can’t make it through hard times without God but you will not have the peace and comfort that only comes from a relationship with your Heavenly Father. It’s a gift we can all have, it’s free and simple, and all it takes is faith and little time!

I’m going to say now that I’m eight years removed from the most tragic day of my families life, and I see how God was there from the very first moment that I found out the news of her death. I’ve also seen how God used this tragedy to build my faith and trust in him. In life we learn most of our tough lessons through mistakes and in our Christian walk our faith grows more abundantly through our trials and tribulations than when things are going smoothly. Trials are coming, it’s part of this earthly life, and we know that. So my prayer is when trials and tragedies hit you and your family, the bond and relationship between you and the Lord are so strong that you don’t have the same debate I did of choosing God or going at life alone separated from him.

Out of all the things I’ve tried to teach and instill into my boys, is purposely building their relationship with the Lord so strong that when life cuts them down at knees God will be there to pick them up and move them forward. It’s not if you’ll need God to see you through hard times it’s when will you need God to see you through those times. The question you must ask yourself, is your relationship with God strong enough to see you through those tragic times? No matter your answer relationships can always be strengthened and improved upon, and the good news is God is waiting.

I look back at my life and I’m encouraged about how God cares for me and loves me. I can count hundreds of times he directly had his hand upon me, how he guided and directed me, how he showed up through other people time and time again. Bottom line is I’ve seen God show up for me and I know he’ll do the same for you.

I’ve made a list in my notes on my phone of the days and times that I know I’ve seen God, it’s titled, I’ve seen Jesus. It amazes me how long my list is. That list also serves as a reminder of the hundreds or maybe thousands of times I’ve missed seeing God work in my life. I know this because the majority of the times I’ve seen him, that I have listed, I nearly missed him. That being said we need a laser focus on our relationship with the Lord because without laser focus you’ll miss the opportunity of seeing God, and sadly you’ll miss seeing how much he loves and cares for you. I pray today that you get laser focused on building that bond with the Lord and that no circumstance can destroy it. When hard times come I hope that bond just becomes an unbreakable chain of strength and blessing for you. There’s no greater joy than knowing you’ve seen God, and witnessing him working in your life. Nothing compares to that! Don’t blink, stay focused and you’ll see God! The Bible says about our relationship with the Lord in Isaiah 40:30-31 “youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, 31: but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint. That is pretty awesome stuff! Something we should all want!

Finally if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. I pray your trials and tribulations of life creates an unbreakable bond between you and the Lord and it leads others around you to working toward the same goal! Love y’all and God bless!

February 12, 2025

Word of the Week: Attitude

Good morning Mt Carmel Baptist it’s hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self examination of our Christian walk while growing Gods kingdom. This week’s word I’m sure is for none of you all, I’m mainly writing this week’s word for myself and this weeks word is attitude. I’m not sure where to even start with the word attitude.

First, I think our attitude affects every aspect of our daily life and dictates our relationship with Jesus. I’ve definitely struggled of late with my attitude, and I’ve seen how it affects decisions, outcomes, and relationships with others. Most importantly as Christian’s we are called to have a Christ like attitude. Examples of a Christ like attitude are, being selfless, being humble, focusing on needs of others, being serious and caring about others, and above all responding to difficulties with the attitude of Jesus. Unfortunately I fail daily at almost every single above mentioned quality of having a Christ like attitude.

Most importantly I believe a positive and healthy attitude starts with three things: our words we speak, our actions, and our relationship with the Lord. I know for myself what I speak from my mouth normally dictates my actions. If I’m speaking words of love and affirmation my actions normally follow suit, but if I’m spewing negativity and resentment, my actions unfortunately resemble that. My nature normally lines with the negative tendencies more so than the love and positivity side of things. The best way I know to fight thoughts of negativity and fleshly sinful desires is constantly building and working on our relationship with the Lord. For me that boils down to my alone time spent talking and listening to the Holy Spirit/Jesus/God.

My days go better when I start them with an hour or more spent visiting with God. While visiting with him I also witness him raising the sun and waking all the animals and birds for their daily tasks. The biggest improvement I’ve been able to make with my time spent with Jesus is just being silent/still and listening. I hear the sounds of nature, wind, rain, birds and I see all the early morning colors, of the sunrise, grass, trees and soon to be flowers blooming. These sounds and colors only come from God! Seeing and hearing these gives me encouragement and hope and sets my attitude for the day ahead. For I know if he so carefully orchestrates nature and the changing of seasons how much more does he care for my well being? Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

My well being and positive attitude starts and ends with my time spent with the Lord, and my attitude dictates my success and happiness. This last week while having quite time with the Lord, I realized I was doing all the talking and pleading, lots of noise coming from my mouth. God could hear my pleas but I couldn’t hear his response, his answers, and that reminded me that the Lord knows what’s best for us, he already has his plans for us, and he knows my needs and desires better than I’ll ever know. So in the words of the late David Earl Gressett (Dad) “broadcast less and tune in more!” Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” With that said I hope you can carve out some time with Jesus and have him shape and set your attitude so it affects people around you in a positive manner.
If this text has been of some encouragement to you maybe you could share with a friend or family member that could use some positivity today. And let’s pray daily that our country turns back to the Christian principles it was founded upon that makes us one of the greatest countries to ever exist!

Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. Love y’all and I pray our attitudes please God and lead others to the Lord!

February 5, 2025

Word of the Week: Forgiveness

The definition of forgiveness is the act of realeasing or dismissing something, also it’s the promise from God not to hold sins against people that has accepted him as their savior. As Christ forgave us we’re suppose to forgive as well. Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” For me this is a hard one, I’m more in tune with the phrase and eye for an eye even though I know that’s not what God commands of me. To shed ourselves of our fleshly desires of anger and revenge can only be accomplished by Gods grace and the work of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. I think forgiving someone is possibly one of the hardest things we’re commanded to do, I personally think true forgiveness is only possible through our relationship with Christ.

I always believed forgiveness was for the person that hurt you or disappointed you, but I found that true forgiveness is more for yourself. It frees your spirit and your mind when you forgive. Forgiveness is more for you than it is your offender, it frees you in such a radical way that you’re left with no other explanation than it was Gods grace and power working through you that allowed you to forgive that person. True forgiveness sets you free and it’s so worth the reward that you feel forgiving someone. It’s also a powerful witness for your family and friends that gets to witness first hand the benefits of forgiveness, they see the chains of bondage and resentment completely disappear. That’s God! Our goal here on earth is to live a life that resembles how Jesus lived, with that said there’s no better example than to forgive others like Christ forgave us. Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

With that said, I believe most of us have an opportunity to forgive someone almost daily or weekly, let’s tap into Gods awesome power and free our spirit by forgiving someone this week. I hope this text has been of some encouragement to you and if so maybe you could share with a friend or family member that could use some encouragement today. And let’s pray daily that our country turns back to the Christian principles it was founded upon that makes us one of the greatest countries to ever exist! Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. Love y’all and let’s encourage and forgive someone today!

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Word of the Week: Salvation

Good morning Mt Carmel Baptist it’s hump day word of the week! This is a weekly text every Wednesday morning meant to inspire, and serve as a self examination of our Christian walk while growing Gods kingdom. This week’s word of the week is salvation. The theological definition of salvation is the deliverance from sin and consequences. As Christians when we allow Christ to come live inside our hearts, believing he died on a cross for our sins our salvation is immediately sealed. With our salvation sealed and promise of an eternity spent in Heaven, for the life of me I can’t understand why just only a little over one out two Americans have been saved.

The promise of salvation is the best deal going, and only 65% of our population identify as Christian’s down from 87% fifty years ago. As a business owner I always say that the buck stops with me, the owner, and as Christian’s the decline of saved souls should stop with us. I believe we need to evaluate ourselves to see if we’re doing everything in our power to be examples of and for Jesus. I know for myself that’s a daily struggle, I relate to Paul when he says in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Struggles are real, but as Christian’s we have already won the battle and I believe we need to start acting like it. With Christ we have conquered death and will live for ever in heaven with Jesus! That’s salvation! Read those last two sentences again and say hallelujah! We need to reflect Jesus more so we become the light in the darkness. We should stand out by being the conquerors God created us to be, after all we conquered death by Jesus’s death and resurrection from the cross. My hope as a Christian is that we can live a life that will inspire and lead the lost to find salvation in Jesus Christ.

My favorite verse is Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels or rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”That scripture alone should let us as Christian’s be a beacon of hope for the world and for the lost. We need to stop complaining, griping, and moping around and start praising, celebrating, and loving ourselves and others like Christ loves us! Let’s continue to pray daily that our country turns back to the Christian principles it was founded upon that makes us one of the greatest countries to ever exist!

Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. Love y’all and let’s be a beacon of hope while thanking and praising God for our salvation!

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Word of the Week: Encourage or Encourager

This week’s word of the week is encourage or encourager. One good way to grow any organization, church, business, or relationship is by encouraging others. The definition of encouragement is the action of giving someone support, confidence, and hope. Our Christian faith is all about hope! As Christian’s we should all want to encourage someone on a daily basis, and how we can do that is by our words, and actions. Both words and actions should reflect and show love.

As Christian’s we are bound to a commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. I believe if we implement this one commandment our walk would be of encouragement to those that we come into contact with on a daily. What makes this difficult is this commandment is not just for the neighbors we like, but for ALL people/neighbors that we come into contact with on a daily basis. That’s a tough one for me!

My prayer for myself, friends, and our church family is that as Christian’s we can give support, confidence, and hope to all we come into contact with, including those living in our own homes. Often encouraging my kids and spouse can be the hardest of all.

As for actions are concerned Paul says it best in 1 Corinthians 13: love is kind, and it does not envy, boast, or act arrogantly; it does not seek its own interests, it’s not easily angered, keeps no records of wrongs, and rejoices in truth; essentially defining love as a selfless, enduring, and positive force that prioritizes the well being of others before personal gain. If we all could strive to be as Paul describes of love, I can’t help but think we would be of great encouragement to all those we come into contact with.

I hope this text has been of some encouragement to you and if so maybe you could share with a friend or family member that could use some encouragement today. And let’s pray daily that our country turns back to the Christian principles it was founded upon that makes us one of the greatest countries to ever exist! Lastly if you know someone or you are someone looking for a Bible based church with a welcoming family feel we invite you to join us on Sundays at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Tioga. Love y’all and let’s encourage someone today!