Friend

I am your friend

I will provide when you are hungry
I will provide when you are thirsty
I will go with you when you are afraid
I will stay with you when you are alone
I will lift you up when you fall
I will carry you when you can no longer walk
I will forgive you when you hurt me
I will ask you to forgive me when I hurt you
I will remember you if you leave
I will wait for you
I will listen when you talk
I will get you to smile when I can
I will notice when you hurt
I will stand beside you when you hurt
I will stand beside you when you fight
I will fight for you
I will give my life to defend you

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Prov 18:24

Being Baptist

Why I am a baptist... by John Lane.

When I was young I was a baptist because that is where my parents took me to church. They went to a little baptist church on the edge of town called Sunset Hill Baptist Church. We went there for a while and God began to deal with me. There was a pastor there that preached the Word and sunday school teachers that taught the Word. I was given grace to understand that I am a sinner against a Holy God. I was given grace to believe that God loved me and sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save me from the penalty of my sin. I was given grace to believe that Christ not only paid for my sins but rose again victorious over the death that I deserved, but He took. Because of what God did I repented and looked to Him for mercy. All that happened in November of 1975. I went to the pastor and told him that I believed, and he talked to me of baptism. I remember that he had a little questionaire that he had me fill out to see if I understood what salvation and baptism were. I don't really remember the questions... but after filling out the paper the pastor talked with me and then went and talked with my parents about a day to do the baptism. One day not too long after they filled up the big fiberglass tub and I went in and testified to the church of God saving me and the pastor baptized me. That is how I became baptist.

Now let me tell you why I am a baptist today. In 1993, after some years in rebelion against God and His instruction to serve Him in a church, I found by His great providence that He had brought me to a church that He would use to impact and change my life. Once again, at the urging of my parents, I went to a baptist church up on the south hill in Spokane called Crestline Baptist Church. The pastor there was Brother Fred Johnson. When I went I found that although I was hearing the scripture preached hard and my heart was under terrible conviction that I couldn't just walk away. God kept bringing me back week after week to basically have my hide torn off by the preaching of the Word and the resulting conviction of the Holy Ghost. After a while God started to really urge me to serve Him there. I had many reasons to resist being in a baptist church. I didn't want to be baptist just because my parents were. I really studied what the church believed and taught. When I came across election... WOW! I had never understood such a thing... but there it was plain as day in the scripture. I struggled with some things that were taught... and as I did I took them each to study in the Word. I found that Crestline Baptist Church resembled the churches that are described in scripture. I found that Crestline Baptist Church put scritpure above all other ideas or documents. The pastor there actually believed and practiced as much of the scripture the he understood and was continually striving to learn and grow in the Word and conform his life and the church to the scriptures. I saw him over the years get up in front of the church and say "I have been teaching you this... and yet in a good examine of the scriptures regarding this I have found that my teaching was wrong... so we need to change to God's way and not do things our way."

I often studied to verify that was the church that was true. I studied with a catholic friend for a few months. I studied with a chruch of Christ friend for about 6 months. I researched the Methodist church and the Presbetyrian church. I did not do this to prove that Crestline Baptist Church was right and that they were all worng... no in fact I did this to find ANY reason not to stay there and serve God. It was all in my wicked heart a plot to have a reason to back away from serving God again. Funny thing happened though... the more that I studied the more that I saw that Crestline Baptist Church was following the scriptures closer than any of the others. They held to and acted like the churches that we read about in scripture. They were not perfect... but that was thier goal that they believed that we should be and they dillegently worked to make the church that way.

If not for God's infinent mercy and long-suffering with me I would have drifted away... but He would not have it be so. After some time God called me into ministry. Brother Fred Johnson took me in under him and said where I go... you go, and what I do you watch and learn. I was given the precious blessing of being an apprentice to the pastor. For just about 5 years I was able to serve and grow in the Lord in that relationship. Then God called me to pastor Cheney Baptist Church. Now I teach the things that God helped me learn and continues to grow me in.

#1- The scripture and the scripture alone is our creed and confession.

#2- The ONLY model for a church is one of autonomy in scripture. Yes the apostles had unique authority... but there are no apostles now. The church at Corinth did not busy themselves trying to govern the church at Philipi. We see NO example or evidence of that. There were NO associations or conventions or synods or anything else established in scripture.

#3- The ONLY people that we see baptized in scripture are believers.

#4- The ONLY examples of baptism were all by immersion.

#5- Salvation is by grace.

#6- Faith is given by God.

#7- Salvation is given by God... kept by God... and is eternal.

#8- Jesus Christ is returning... no... we didn't miss it in 70 a.d.

Those are just a few good distinctives...



May God bless,

John Lane

Tagged... Ten questions to ask...

Steph tagged me with this... so here it goes...

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

Spend more time in scripture and thanking Him in ALL things... not just when I remember or when I am happy in the flesh.

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

To simply have Him increase and me decrease...

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

Pray with them more and continue to read scripture together each day.

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

Temperance... I have to struggle with walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh... but specifically in temperance.

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

Probably people that just want to complain about those people that are serving God and yet don't serve God themselves... and I am still not sure of what to do about it...

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

New... hmmmmm... keep right on teaching and preaching the scripture to the flock and learning to love them just like Christ loves me.

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

Hmmmm... I am begging the Lord to open the eyes of many people... including all of the children at the chruch as well as my sister and brother-in-law.

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

I pray that in God's grace that I will learn to follow Him more and more and to trust Him more and more.

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

Be MORE consistant...
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?


1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good... I have done pretty well in the first part of that verse... I work very dilligently to prove all things. I don't always do so well at holding fast that which is good. I need to grow more in that.

11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?

Hmmmm... I am not sure. It may simply be that I need to trust God more and more... but I am not sure if that qualifies.

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?

I am pretty simple already... I just do my best to avoid drama.

13. What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

To share the gospel of Christ with many people... and feed the sheep.

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

The exercise if patience and longsuffering to all with out getting involved in drama.

15. Who do you most want to encourage this year?

The flock that God has placed me in.



These questions were hard... yikes... (hehehehehe)



May God bless,

John Lane

God created in our image...???

1Jo 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
1Jo 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
1Jo 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

There was a little girl sitting in sunday school class. She was busy drawing a picture on a piece of paper with crayons. Her teacher walked up and asked her what she was drawing. The little girl did not even look up, but answered and said, "I am drawing God." The teacher was a little surprised, and asked the little girl, "How can you be drawing God... nobody knows what He looks like." The little girl once agian kept right on drawing with out looking up and responded, "Everyone will know what He looks like in a minute..."

This is a cute story... but also how true it is. Not that little kids are bad or wrong... but rather that we all tend to want to create God in our image of what we think that He ought to be. May I suggest that is an aweful thing to do. Instead of submitting to what God says that He is in His own Word, we try to twist Him and change Him to suit us. This is wrong and futile. Lets look at three things quickly...

IMAGE:

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

We were created in His image... not the other way around.


Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

We are commanded not to try to make God like us or anything else that He created... and yet we continually do that wicked thing.


Gen 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Focus in for a moment on these words... "for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" This was written AFTER the flood, and is still true today. Our imaginations want God to be like us to give ourselves excuse to live and act like we do. It will not work.


Second lets look at the following:

INVENTION:

Psa 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
Psa 106:37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
Psa 106:38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Psa 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.

We continually want to invent our own truth and twisted fleshly imaginations... and it always leads to destruction.


Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

No matter how clever we think that we may be... and how good our idea of God may seem... if it is not what God declares Himself to be it is inaccurate and useless.

Third and last lets look at...

INHERITANCE:

In 1 John 5:21 it says "little children" that is a refference to the fact that if we are saved... we are born agian into the family of God. We are His children by adoption eternally held by His great power. Why would we want to change the one that loves us and saved us??


Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children

We ought to be followers of God and not try to make Him followers of us.

Just some thoughts today.

May God bless,

John Lane

Family

Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Family... the family of God. Just a few thoughts on the family of God. We have some things in common like:

We bear the same family name- in verses 14 and 15 we see that God's family is named not after my name, your name, John Calvin's name, Jacob Arminius' name, but rather we are named after God who loved us and sent Jesus to be our saviour.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

We have the same Spirit- in verse 16 we see that we are strengthened by His Spirit. The Holy Ghost works in all of God's children. From quickening in salvation to strengthening in the inner man. He is our earnest of salvation. We are sealed in Him.


Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

We have been given faith- I did not say that all men have been given faith... but rather that God's family has been given faith, and we all have that in common. We did not well up faith within ourselves but rather it was the gift of God.


2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

The same price had to be paid for our forgiveness- It does not matter if you are a liar and if I am guilty of coveteousnes... the blood of Christ had to be shed to save both of us. He gave his blood to save a wretch like me.


Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Now that we have looked at what we as the family of God have in common... the next time I blog I will talk about what we don't have in common.

May God bless,

John Lane

To David

David... I don't know if you ever look at this blog or not. I am not writing this I impress you, but rather to encourage you and your family. I have never been a United States Marine, but I thank God that you are one. I thank you for your willingness to serve a country in the manner that only the USMC does. You have taken on an incredible duty and a difficult duty... but I am sure that God will strengthen you for the task. You have my thanks and appreciation, as does your family. I am certain that it is not an easy duty for them as well, but once again I know that God will strengthen them. David... no matter where you are God is with you. No matter where you go God will be there. You have the prayers of brothers and sisters in Christ and of course all the love that a man needs from his family at home. Keep your eyes on Jesus at all times and in all places. It is not easy to do that when we are home with our family and serving on our church, let alone having to be away serving as you do... but we must keep the Lord as our focus. May God bless you and protect you. May God strengthen you and bring you peace in the most dire circumstances. You have a great and honourable task and you have my thanks for taking it on.


Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Col 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.


May God bless you and your family,

John Lane

Are you hidden??

How well are you hidden? Sounds like a silly question... but it really is a good question in light of this verse...


Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

How much of you do people see? Let's be honest... I am not just talking about strangers... but how much of you do your kids see? How about your wife or husband? Now lets branch out to co-workers and neighbors. Do they see (and hear) about all of your opinions and the way that you think things ought to be? Or do they see (and hear) about our Lord Jesus and the way that says things ought to be? Far too often in my life people see John WAY WAY too much. I need to hide John and show forth Jesus Christ who loved me and saved me.


Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Do I truly live for Him? When a brother/sister is unkind to me do they get to see and hear from me... or do I do what Christ has done for me and forgive them and show them kindness? When I talk to my child do I treat her like my Father in heaven treats me... with longsuffering, and encouragement... or does she see my impatience and frustrations.

I know that none of us are perfect but sometimes I don't even try to show forth Christ. I just act like John. What a shame. God has treated us so good. He has filled my life with blessing and mercy and joy... and I don't show that to others like I should... but rather I show my self instead of hidding in Christ and showing Him and His greatness.


Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.


May God bless,

John Lane

Praise

I am guilty of something that I must confess. I do not praise God near as much as I should. It seems that as a crusty old baptist I have done what we have done historicaly with so many other things such as preaching on the Holy Ghost, and teaching about the awesome miracles that the apostles were given to do and show to the world as proof of the ministry that God gave them. I have found myself not praising God in songs and speech and deeds because... well that is what the phoney religious nuts do. What a shame. What a failure on my part. I NEED to praise God. I am instructed in the scriptures to praise God. I have been ashamed and spent time on my knees confessing and repenting to God over this. Now nobody panic. I am not going to start a rock band and sway back and forth with emotional tears running down my face on sunday morning. But I have been blessed by looking again at the words to the hymns that we sing, and remembering that this is true and good. To God be the glory. His grace is Amazing. I love that old ruggid cross. I really do love to tell the story. You get the picture I hope. I need to be praising God all the day long... come what may. I don't often "feel" like it... but who cares. He is worthy! Not just in song but how about in speech? Do I praise God in what comes out of my mouth? I know not nearly as much as I should and He is always worthy. Why have we who try to be so doctinaly sound in things shy away from praising God? I am not sure outside of the fact that we do not want to be associated or identified with the religious nuts. That is just NOT a good enough reason to stop or even hold back praising God. So may God be praised today in your life and mine.

Ps 146:1-2 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being

May God bless,

John Lane