Making the personal decision to follow Christ.

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And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 Billy Graham, in my estimation, was one of the greatest preachers in the history of the Christian faith. I once heard him talk about his son, Franklin, who grew up with a very godly mother and father. But when Franklin was about 25 years old, he realized that he didn’t know Christ. Here he had grown up in the home of Billy Graham, but didn’t know the Lord! So Franklin personally received Christ. And now as you know he leads his late father’s ministry and he works in some of the most troubled spots in the world for the advancement of the Gospel. But first he had to realize that being a member of Billy Graham’s family didn’t get him into heaven. Only a personal faith could. It doesn’t matter if you grew up in Billy Graham’s family or Osama bin Laden’s, you must personally receive Christ as your Lord and Savior to be saved. Salvation is a personal decision and each and every person is held to account for it! Maybe you’ve grown up in a Christian home. Or, maybe you’ve been raised in a very un-Christian home. Either way, you have the choice today to personally follow Christ or not to do so. So no matter your background, step out in faith and receive forgiveness through Christ today! WHATEVER YOUR FAMILY BACKGROUND, YOU HAVE A PERSONAL DECISION TO MAKE WHEN IT COMES TO JESUS CHRIST. SO TRUST IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION FOR FORGIVENESS TODAY!

Silent Christians

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?”
Psalm 137:1–4

For God’s people to be surrounded by enemies is not new—it has happened over and over again throughout the centuries. Sadly, however, one of the common responses to hardship and enmity is silence. Instead of publicly declaring our praise of God and our allegiance to Him, we are tempted to put our heads down and try to avoid making waves. At a time when a business or even a church can be sued for trying to practice the faith taught in the Scriptures, it is tempting to avoid taking a firm stand. But it is in the moments of challenge that our voices are most important.
The opening of our mouths in praise and worship to God is not optional in the Christian life. It is not something to practice sporadically or only at certain times. Instead it is to be part of our daily existence, so that all who know us recognize our gratitude toward the God we serve. The silent Christian is a disobedient Christian.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Doth not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Doth not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Hath not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?”
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

God created us to praise Him, and this is just as true in difficult times as in times of blessing.