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From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-25-12

“How Sweet it is!”

A little boy is telling his Grandma how "everything" is going wrong: School, family problems, health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake.
She asks her grandson if he would like a snack, which of course he does.
"Here, have some cooking oil."
"Yuck" says the boy.
"How about a couple raw eggs? "
"Gross, Grandma!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Grandma, those are all yucky!"
To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"
She continued, "God works the same way in our lives."

Isn’t it funny how grandmothers seem to always know what to say??? Since we started Vacation Bible School this week I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the events that lead us to something special.

In John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the Truth the Life and the Way, no one comes to the Father accept thru Me” This in itself sounds simple enough but it can be a difficult road. Nevertheless the reward is sweet in deed…

As we walk thru our lives, life is never too simple. When Tina and I got married, 29 years ago, we thought life would be pretty simple. Well it all started with the wedding plans. Everything seemed to be going fine and then we hit a snag on the wedding day and had to move the time back to accommodate another couple that was getting married on that day, even though we had our name on the list first. Well we survived, of course, but it was a time of great stress for my bride to be. So we moved our time for them and had a great wedding anyway. As life went on we had our fair share of struggles and it would have been easy to just give up. Nevertheless the reward has been sweet in deed…

Our walk with God is the same. As we go thru struggles in our lives satin will throw a lot of things our way. They become obstacles that hinder us from seeing what God is trying to do thru us.  A lot of times we tend to give up and quite church. We sometimes think, “What’s the use”?  Church is hard work. It is not for the faint of heart. It is not all about our comfort zone. It is about our relationship with our Creator. In Matthew Jesus was talking to His disciples. He commissioned them to do a great work. That same commission is given to us as well. 28: 19-20 “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.

We as a country are entering an age of rejection of God. It shows in our lack of service, our lack of commitment, our lack of speaking up for Christian principals, and our lack of willingness to accept His call. There are a lot of committed service minded Christian’s out there, but the number is decreasing, for there are many who don’t want to be bothered with that “Church stuff”.

Joshua 24: 15 “And if it seems evil to you  to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served which were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”

My advice to you is to not give up. Don’t forget the prize at the end of the age. The place where Jesus went to prepare for you and I and that He will be returning again to take us there… Ahhh how sweet it will be…

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-12-12

A day to Remember:

Since this Sunday is “Fathers Day”, I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to our fathers.

There are a lot of things I remember about my father. He was a kind man and was gentle. He seemed to be able to make friends wherever he went. He was fair to us but was not afraid to administer discipline when we acted up. (Which was quite often) He was generous to all of us even though we sometimes did not appreciate it. Being a Certified Public Accountant he did book work in several cities. His main office was in Brinkley Arkansas where I grew up. From time to time I would go by the office after school and visit. He always had time to stop and talk to me, no matter who was in his office.

When time permitted he loved to work around the house. He always had a project to do. As I watched him work he would talk to me about what he was doing. He was a good teacher and as I look at my life today I see a lot of what he taught me coming out in the things I try to teach to my boys. One thing that stands out most was that he made the best pork and beans this side of the Mississippi. He would make everyone get out of the kitchen when he made them. No one was to know his secret. My sister Vicki tried and tried to reproduce his beans. Even though she made some pretty good beans I don’t think she ever got it down 100%.  After dad had died even mom tried to make them but did not succeed.

As I look back to those days I can see all that he was teaching me.  He gave me a since of worth and taught me a lot of how to build, construct and to reason. He taught me the importance of being a good father to my children and the importance of our Father in Heaven.  I believe that he passed along to me how important it is to trust in our Savior.   I still can feel the warmth of his arm on my shoulder as he stood next to me when I accepted Christ as my Savior.

As the Psalmist says in Psalm 78:5-74, “5) For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6) That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children,7) That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments;” my father passed on to me what is important in life and now I hope to instill this in my sons.

So the question today is, have you trusted in your Heavenly Father? As a father, it is up to us to send this message on to the generations to come, that they may come to trust in God and His Holy Word.

This father’s day take the time to honor your Father in Heaven and to pay tribute to all the God fearing fathers out there…

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-4-12

Summertime Fun:

If you did not know, our youngest son Brandon graduated this year. In the fall he will be headed off to college. The exciting part about it is he will get to start a whole new adventure in life. For Tina and me it will be a whole new way of life. You see we have had 2 boys in our house for 24 years and we don’t remember what it was like before kids. (Although we are certainly willing to try to remember)  We may even find a way to have fun without them, but it won’t be the same.