“This, then, is how you should pray:”   (Matthew 6:9a)

Honestly, I don’t know how many books have been written about prayer, probably several million. Despite our frail attempts to explain prayer, we seem to struggle doing it. I don’t always understand all the reasons as to why followers of Jesus don’t pray, but we don’t. Here are just a few of the reasons given:

1. Not feeling close to God
2. Wrong priorities
3. Doing things in our strength, not God’s
4. Praying doesn’t accomplish anything
5. Don’t know how to talk with God
6. No one has taught me
7. Distractions
8. Bored

That’s a pretty good or pretty sad list of reasons as to why Christians don’t pray. I must admit it took me several years to learn the importance of personal prayer. It is not something that happens overnight for most believers no matter how long you’ve served Him. I will admit it takes a desire and a commitment to do so because without both of these elements, we will give up when our lives are out-of-control which is most of the time if we are not being led by God’s Spirit. God is not the author of confusion, but He does like to test us to see if we’ll follow Him no matter where He sends us or what He asks us to do. Oh, how that is difficult sometimes!

This leads me to our Bible verse: “This, then, is how you should pray:” The disciples saw something different in the way that Jesus prayed, and they wanted to experience his secret. The great thing is that there is no secret. Jesus taught them how to pray through adoration, confession/forgiveness, and specific personal petitions in our lives. Of course, we’ve added through scriptural teaching the act of thanksgiving to the Lord and for what He does for us. An acrostic always helps us to remember better – ACTS!

Thomas Wright, the Associational Missionary of the Mobile Baptist Association, wrote when he worked with Henry Blackaby at the North American Mission Board a study on prayer called “A Prayer Guide for Associations and Churches: Challenging Believers to Reclaim the Church as a House of Prayer with a Passion for the Lost”. Don’t let the long title fool you. From this study, Thomas wrote a shorter prayer guide called, “Taking Prayer to the Streets”.  This guide teaches believers how to pray all types of different ways personally as well as congregationally.

Thomas will be leading us in three sessions over the next year with the first session being at the PBA office on Friday, May 3 with supper at 6:00 pm and Saturday, May 4 with breakfast at 8:30 am. The theme is “Praying Like Jesus” in which Thomas will teach us how to pray for believers, unbelievers, and personal spiritual needs. I look forward to having him with us during these sessions as we learn how to pray as Jesus prayed.  I encourage you to make time for this important topic in our Christian lives.  

Until Next Month,

Bro. Lyle

“One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike…Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.” (Romans 14.5 – 6)

According to a recent YouGov survey, 36% of the people felt that their most favorite day of the year is Christmas with Thanksgiving and Halloween ranking 2^nd and 3^rd. However, if you ask which day is enjoyed more than an average day, it would be Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, Mother´s Day, and Easter all tied for third. What does all this mean? Well, it shows there is a difference between our favorite days and our enjoyable days. Notice that Thanksgiving and Christmas still rank high on both surveys. However, Easter is NOT so much a favorite day of the year. More men choose Easter as their favorite day over women.  I wonder why?

I really enjoy and consider Thanksgiving as my favorite day of the year. I’m sure it has to do with special times spent with family as well as my need to be thankful for all that I’ve received from the Lord during my life. BUT, why not Easter? Although Paul uses the Romans passage to settle the issue of the faith of the weak and strong Christians, I believe we can use this passage here, too. Notice how Paul states that no matter which day you consider special…it is the Lord’s. Of course, Easter or Resurrection Day is definitely the Lord’s. I believe this may be a key reason as to why Easter is not a favorite day for many people. It celebrates Jesus’ resurrection and his defeat of sin of death. These are not topics that most people, especially non-Christians, want to talk about. Give me good ol’ chocolate bunny and forget my sin and death!

Our society has tried to cover up its meaning with the Easter bunny, eggs, baskets, and the older Easter Day parade, but it can’t wipe out Easter’s true purpose. In this same section of Romans 14, Paul goes on to write, ”For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the living and the dead.” (v. 5) Wow! I don’t think the chocolate bunny can overcome that victory.

As we celebrate Easter this year, let’s begin making it our favorite day of the year as well as the one we most enjoy.  I sincerely believe by doing this we will not miss its importance.

Until Next Month,

Bro. Lyle

“You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction;…You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.”   (Psalm 52.2 -3)

Deceit is the “practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.”  (Oxford Languages) On our TV screens, social media, and billboards, Alabamians are being bombarded with the “greatness” of voting in favor of the expansion of gambling. At one time, the conversation was just about the lottery. Now, it is a full-blown move to lottery, casino gambling, sports gambling, etc… Drive to Wind Creek casinos, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, or the northern Mississippi River area, and you can’t help but see the many opportunities to gamble. We are tempted to buy a lottery ticket, or bet online, or go to a nice restaurant in a casino. However, to get to the nice restaurant, you have to go through the casino where you might be tempted to drop a coin into a slot machine.

Our legislators tell us that these monies will benefit the state education budget which ran a surplus last year and will do the same in 2024. Now, our legislators almost all Republican and some Christian say, “Let the people decide.” Well, early polling has already shown that around 70% are in favor of expanding gambling. Thank you, our legislators! Your deceit will probably be rewarded. Do we not understand that “the sad and tragic results of gambling frequently adversely affect the poor and wreck the lives of families and individuals who participate, notably those who live below the poverty level. Gambling can intensify addiction, leading to financial ruin, relationship strain, and psychological distress.” (ALSBOM Leadership statement)

When it passes, are you going to pick up the pieces in your communities and cities from those whose addictions are out of control? Or will you be celebrating because your purses will swell with revenue that is gained through falsehood? This type of deceit has happened on many other issues from alcohol revenues, CBD stores, and medical marijuana to the sad state of our educational system in Alabama which has not benefitted from quick fixes in the past.

I applaud the Alabama State Attorney General, the Alabama Baptist Convention State leadership, and ALCAP for speaking against the expansion of gambling. However, this is not enough. We, the people, are responsible for standing up and voting against this move by our elected leaders. Is there anything else we can do? Here are a few thoughts:

• PRAY! Pray for our local representatives and state representatives. May their eyes be open to the harm that expanded gambling will bring to Alabama!
• VOTE! If (and I believe it will happen) a bill is sent for a vote later this year, VOTE. As Christians, we’re blessed to live in a country where we can help decide what our county, state, and nation looks like. Take the time to vote. If you’re not registered, register. If you are, it only takes about 5 minutes.
• PAY ATTENTION and BE ALERT! Our enemy, Satan, is sly. However, on the issue of gambling, he is not subtle. It’s right in our face. As Jesus’ body on earth, our voice can make a difference if we will but use it.                                                                              Until Next Month,   

          Bro. Lyle

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…God is Love.”  (I John 4:10,16b)

In 1967, the Beatles released the song, “All You Need Is Love”. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were trying “to express the importance to empathize with the suffering and misfortunes of others, we need to feel what they’re going through.” These are good and well-intended sentiments, but love is so much more than empathy and feelings.

From our key passage, John wrote that “God is Love”. What does this mean? Before the previous statement of God being love, he wrote, “God loved us and sent His Son….” The apostle Paul wrote, “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Yes, God is empathetic and feeling, but beyond these emotions, God is active! He was moved to action upon seeing the situation that his creation, especially man was experiencing …lost in sin.

There is an important point to keep in mind. Whenever God’s love is mentioned, it is accompanied by an action. Adam and Eve, God killed animals and made them garments. The world-wide flood, God saved Noah and his family through the ark. The Israelite people crying out to God from Egypt, God saved them through the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea. We could go through the judges, the kings, and the prophets until the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to show how God showed His love through His actions. Don’t even get me started!

This ultimate action of God’s love through the sending of His Son, Jesus emphasizes once again God’s active love for us. As the hymn “It is Well with My Soul” states, Jesus saw “our helpless estate and shed His own blood for my soul.” Wow, God’s Love = Action!

Although Mr. Lennon and Mr. McCartney attempted to describe what love is, they missed the whole point. GOD IS LOVE! and He showed His love toward us by sending His Son, Jesus, to die and redeem all of mankind.

Until Next Month,

Bro. Lyle

“In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”  (John 1:1-2)

What powerful statements we see in Genesis 1 and John 1. God and His Son, Jesus, were in the beginning. As we read further in Genesis 1, we notice that the Holy Spirit is present, too. The triune God present in the beginning. I read the footnote in my Bible which said, “It was never in question that God didn’t exist before the creation”. In other words, God was present and always has been present. WOW!! God has always been. For my finite mind, this is hard to comprehend. Everything must have a beginning point?! NO, God just is! There’s nothing to argue about…either God has always been or He hasn’t. Moses didn’t doubt it when he penned these words,  should we? And what is the far-reaching meaning of God’s omnipresence or His always being with us?

Honestly, I can’t give you the deep theological answers, but I can say this…”God (Jesus Christ) is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. (Hebrews 13:8) There is no change. There is no variation. James states, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”. (James 1:17) We, who are finite, who are mortal, who change can trust our Lord to remain the same.

In these days of uncertainty, there is one thing that is certain…God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He does not change and remains the same. Personally, this gives me hope for the year ahead. It doesn’t matter what all the “talking heads” say or don’t say, I will remain planted by the Lord Jesus Christ. I encourage you to be certain and without a doubt of not only who God is but also what He means to you. Through your certainty in Him, you can face any calamity, difficulty, or problem which comes your way.

Happy New Year!

Bro. Lyle

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

Who is four foot tall, makes tea cakes, and lives a life of radical obedience to the Lord? Give up…Lottie Moon! Really, Lottie Moon. Yes, Lottie Moon. The same woman who shares the name of the annual SBC International Missions Offering. Her life was one in which living for Christ was more important than anything else, even death. It is said that Lottie empathized so much with the starving Chinese that she stopped eating. Of course, this radical step eventually led to her physical death.

How radically obedient are we for the Gospel? I’m not saying go on a hunger strike, but I am asking the question of whether or not our faith chooses to “deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Him” before anything else. But, Brother Lyle, Lottie Moon didn’t marry, or it was a different century, or whatever. Maybe so. However, Lottie did have an opportunity to marry and even wrote her family to prepare for a wedding, but it never came. Her only explanation was “God had first claim on my life, and since the two conflicted, there could be no question about the result”.

Some might say it was a simpler and an easier time in which to live. Weeell, you’d be wrong! She faced the China-Japanese war, the Boxer rebellion, and the Chinese revolution which led to famine and plagues. Through each of these circumstances, her obedience was tested. Would she remain on the field? Or would she return to the States? Each time, she chose to remain in China. How would you respond if placed in a similar situation?

As we go into this Christmas season, let us remember the example and the life of Lottie Moon. She gave everything, even life itself, to further the Kingdom of God. Will we give our lives in radical obedience to fulfill His call? Let’s not forget that Someone special came “to give His life as a ransom for many”. Paul wrote, “He (Jesus) made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8) Will we humble ourselves to obey the Lord – even death?

Merry Christmas to Each of You!

Lyle and Claren Dease

“The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are Co-Workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (I Corinthians 3:8-9)

The Alabama State Convention is commemorating its 200 year celebration at FBC Montgomery on November 14-15. It was founded on October 28-29, 1823 at Salem Church near Greensboro by 7 missionary societies for the purpose of promoting missions, education, and closer cooperation among the Baptist churches of Alabama. Some might say, “So what? What does that have to do with my local church, Brother Lyle?” Well, it has a lot to do with your local church because you have chosen as a congregation some time in your past to be a member of this Alabama State Convention. Yes, some of these primary purposes have been expanded to meet the different needs of our churches over these  200 years, but Alabama’s love for missions, evangelism, education, and cooperation has not changed.

Not being a Southern Baptist by birth, I chose to become a Southern Baptist for these and many other reasons. I was moved and still moved today by our statement on Cooperation as written in the “Baptist Faith and Message” 2000 statement: “Christ’s people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have NO authority over one another or over the churches. They are VOLUNTARY…to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner.” Wow, what a mouthful, but it basically says that we, the local churches, have chosen to work together, cooperate, to further God’s Kingdom. PTL! Isn’t that what we desire?

It is impossible for one church no matter its size to accomplish all the purposes of the Kingdom. We need one another from the smallest to the largest. In Pickens County, there isn’t that great disparity of size as there is in many urban and suburban areas, but there are some larger than others. Rather than a church going off and doing its own thing, these larger churches should/must help supply resources to our smaller, needier congregations. However, both at times are too prideful. Too prideful to give help or to prideful to  receive help. Brothers and sisters, as Paul wrote, “we are Co-Workers in God’s service;…” This isn’t a competition, it is a mission with one purpose “to seek and to save the Lost”, which is Christ’s purpose. Let’s be about the task of cooperating to finish the purpose that Jesus left for us.

Until Next Month,

Bro. Lyle 

“O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”   (Psalm 104:24)

Have you ever taken time to contemplate or deeply think about the enormity of creation? Well, Claren and I recently had that opportunity during our vacation in Arizona and Southern Utah. We spent time in Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Slot Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. I’m sure I missed a few others. However, each of these areas had their own beauty. Claren called it, “God’s Grandeur Tour”. I like that!  Yes, God’s creation is mightier than we can ever imagine. No matter how much I contemplate on the enormity of His work, I can never grasp my mind around its greatness.

The Psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 104 how great and wide are the seas, how He looks on the earth and it trembles, how He made the sun and the moon as well as the animals. It’s just a fantastic passage of Scripture giving God the glory for who He is and what He has created. Truly, His works are too numerous for a mere mortal like myself to count.

The same was true for one gentleman who looked out over the Grand Canyon and quoted this Psalm. He was moved to praise the Lord. I have a picture of his quote in this edition of the “Mind of the Missionary”. I couldn’t believe that it was allowed to remain on the frame of the door to the studio in the National Park, but it was still there for everyone to see. I don’t know how many people have stopped to read it. I hope everyone, but I doubt it.

My desire is as believers we will take time if not every day at least one time a week to spend time deeply thinking about God’s enormous creation. It can be humbling to think that God made this entire universe for Man, but He has. We are to be its stewards, to take care of it, and to appreciate what He has given to us. May we not take His creation for granted.

Until Next Month,

Bro. Lyle