Mt. Horeb Services Begin Monday

Click to enlarge

I will be preaching revival services at Mt. Horeb Baptist Church Monday-Friday, March 12-16, 2012. The services will begin at 7pm each night. The church is located at 3449 NE CR340 near High Springs, Florida.  For more information or directions call Pastor James West at (386) 454-5238.

NOTE: For up-to-date information on my preaching schedule visit the schedule page of the JCEA ministry website. If you would like to receive schedule information via e-mail follow this link: Subscribe to James Croft Ministry Opportunities by Email.

The Dalton Gang

Our Daily Bread

Read: Proverbs 4:10-19

 

He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death. —James 5:20

 

The Dalton brothers were infamous outlaws during the late 1800s in the US. They started out on the right side of the law as officers. But then they followed a gradual descent into crime and became known for bank and train robberies. Their day of reckoning came when they tried to hold up two banks at once. Hearing of the robberies, the townspeople armed themselves and began to fire on the Dalton Gang. When the smoke cleared, Emmett Dalton was the sole survivor.

After serving 15 years in the penitentiary, Emmett was pardoned and set free. While in prison, he had come to see the error of his ways. So when he was released, he wanted to deter young people from a life of crime. Drawing from his own experience, Emmett wrote and starred in a film about the Dalton Gang in which he showed the folly of being an outlaw. In many ways, Emmett’s film was telling others: “Do not enter the path of the wicked” (Prov. 4:14).

In a similar way, when we have sinned but have genuinely repented and experienced God’s forgiveness, we can tell our own story. We can encourage others not to make the same mistakes we have made. James wrote, “He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death” (5:20).

If others learn from our mistakes,

And it saves them from the pain

That we ourselves experienced—

Then it wasn’t all in vain. —Sper

 

When we learn from our mistakes, we are less likely to repeat them.

JOY Box 2012 Wrap-up

All of the 153 JOY Boxes collected for nursing home residents have now been delivered.  The total number of boxes was slightly higher this year, so five nursing homes in Baker and Columbia Counties received boxes of JOY.

I would like to thank everyone that took the time and effort to prepare a shoebox gift and those that sent financial contributions for the James Croft Evangelistic Association to prepare the boxes.  We had 153 smiling faces as a result of your efforts!

It's not too early to begin praying and preparing for next years' box collection.  You can find all of the program info and the latest JOY Box news by visiting the following links.

• JOY Box website
• Facebook page
• Blog posts
• Donate for JOY Boxes

Chapel Hill VBS Scheduled for June

I'll be taking off into the wild blue yonder the first week in June as I teach Vacation Bible School at Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida.  The theme of VBS 2012 is "Amazing Wonders Aviation: Awesome God!  Amazing Power!"

The children's VBS will begin on Monday, June 4, 2012 and end on Friday, June 8th at Megg's Barn off Riverton Road in Tallahassee, Florida.

For more information or directions call the church office at (850) 222-6900.

NOTE: For up-to-date information on my preaching schedule visit the schedule page of the JCEA ministry website. If you would like to receive schedule information via e-mail follow this link: Subscribe to James Croft Ministry Opportunities by Email.

Leap Day

What is Leap Day?  February 29 is known as a leap day in the Gregorian calendar.  Although most years of the modern calendar have 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, during which an extra 24 hours have accumulated, one extra day is added to keep the count coordinated with the sun's apparent position.

It is, however, slightly inaccurate to calculate an additional 6 hours each year. A better approximation, derived from the Alfonsine tables, is that the Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun in 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 16 seconds. To compensate for the difference, an end-of-century year is not a leap year unless it is also exactly divisible by 400. This means that the years 1600 and 2000 were leap years, as will be 2400 and 2800, but the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not, nor will 2100, 2200 and 2300.

The Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 400 years, which is exactly 20,871 weeks including 97 leap days. Over this period, February 29 falls on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday 13 times each; 14 times each on Friday and Saturday; and 15 times each on Monday and Wednesday.

For more information visit Wikipedia.

FBC Macclenny Sunday

I will be preaching in supply for Pastor Edsel Bone at First Baptist Church of Macclenny this Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 10:45am.  The morning service is also broadcast on WJXR 92.1 FM beginning at 11am.  The church is located at 372 S. 6th. Street in Macclenny, Florida.  For more information or directions call the church at (904) 259-2933.

NOTE: For up-to-date information on my preaching schedule visit the schedule page of the JCEA ministry website. If you would like to receive schedule information via e-mail follow this link: Subscribe to James Croft Ministry Opportunities by Email.

And the Oscar goes to...

The Back Pew