Friday, November 30, 2007

Macclenny Christmas Festival And Parade


Tomorrow, the JCEA will mobilize our Christmas JOY Box Ministry by participating in the Macclenny Christmas Festival and Lighted Parade. I will be at an exhibit booth for most of the day providing information and examples about participating in the JOY Box Ministry. I'll also be giving away CD's of the November 2007 Walking With The Giant Podcast and sharing Christ as permitted with a giant Evangecube.

The festivities concludes with a lighted Christmas parade in the evening. The JOY Box Ministry will make an appearance during the parade and information flyers will be distributed. Please be in prayer for this day-long event and for our final preparations later today and tomorrow.

Boy, am I excited!!!

Have you made plans to participate in the JOY Box Ministry? Here are some links that will provide you with more information:

Outsourcing To Munchkins

Top YouTube Channel Views

Below are our top 9 viewed videos from our YouTube Channel. The counts reflected were as of 9:24 AM on Friday, November 30, 2007.

3'10" tall evangelist James Croft
Added: 9 months ago
Views: 1,390
Bluegrass Gospel Medley
Added: 1 month ago
Views: 851
Do You Know?
Do You Know?
03:50
Added: 2 months ago
Views: 842
James Croft television news feature
Added: 9 months ago
Views: 588
Happy Camper
Happy Camper
01:17
Added: 5 months ago
Views: 527
A Great Heritage
Added: 4 months ago
Views: 402
Good Food
Good Food
01:15
Added: 6 months ago
Views: 313
Belinda Sings
Added: 3 months ago
Views: 304
Unshaven
Unshaven
01:17
Added: 6 months ago
Views: 294
See All 29 Videos

Broken Sign


NOTE: If you have a good digital photo of a great church sign, send it to me and I may post it on this site.

Paper Cut


Thursday, November 29, 2007

JOY Box Drop-Off Update


We have arranged for a central drop-off location in Lake City, Florida for JCEA Christmas JOY Boxes. The boxes can be delivered to the office of Beulah Baptist Association at 189 NW Cali Drive in Lake City. The office hours are:

  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:30am-5pm
  • Wednesday 8:30am-4pm
  • Closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
  • Closed 12-1pm for lunch
Directions to Beulah Baptist Association.

Special drop-off times can be arranged by calling 386.867.3199.

Other JOY Box weblinks:

Terms For Pay Cut

Shakespeare’s Translation?


READ: 2 Peter 1:16–2:3

No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. —2 Peter 1:20

Some have speculated that William Shakespeare helped translate the King James Bible. They say that he inserted a cryptogram (a message written in code) while he translated Psalm 46. In this psalm, the 46th word from the beginning is shake and the 46th word from the end is spear. Furthermore, in 1610, while the King James Bible was being translated, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old. Despite these coincidences, no serious evidence supports this theory.

Some people also claim to have found hidden meanings when interpreting the Bible. Certain cults will cite a verse out of context, only to lead someone into heretical doctrine. Some quote John 14:16, for example, and say that the “Helper” refers to their “new revelation.” When compared with other Scripture, however, the Helper whom Jesus sent to us is obviously the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-14; Acts 2:1-4).

The apostle Peter wrote, “No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). To interpret a biblical passage accurately, we must always consider the context and compare it with other Scripture. This respects the clear meaning of the Bible without trying to find hidden meaning in it.
Dennis Fisher

God’s Word does not have secret codes
That need a special key;
It’s understandable and clear,
With truth for all to see. —Sper

The best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture itself.

For similar resources, search these topics:

Basics Of Faith > Bible/Scripture > Reliability of

Children Under Five

A little child in church for the first time watched as the ushers passed the offering plates.

When they neared the pew where he sat, the youngster piped up so that everyone could hear: "Don't pay for me Daddy, I'm under five."

Rusty Chevrolet


Here's a website with a comical play on the song Jingle Bells. The site has the words to the song as well as audio.

Tweaking Of Man


Wednesday, November 28, 2007

467 Boxes

The JCEA JOY Box Ministry is now underway. The total number of boxes needed to provide every nursing home resident in Baker and Columbia Counties (Florida) with some Christmas JOY is 467. That sounds like a lot of boxes, but with us all working together we can exceed our goal and expand into other counties. For more information about this ministry visit our website.

Read a related post.

North Carolina school district urged not to ban Bible distribution

A public-interest law firm that specializes in First Amendment and religious free-speech cases has sent a letter to the school district in Cumberland County, North Carolina, advising its superintendent that the district didn't have to implement a new policy that bans community groups from leaving Bibles outside its elementary school campuses.

A recent report from Associated Press detailed the district's decision to ban the distribution after a claim made by the American Civil Liberties Union that allowing the Bibles violates the U.S. Constitution. According to that report, the ACLU states that "impressionable young students" would tend to think the school was promoting the Bible by providing copies to them.

Read more of this story on OneNewsNow.

Valued Experience

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

JOY Box Ministry Launched

You are invited to help bring Christmas JOY to residents of nursing homes in Baker and Columbia Counties (Florida) by filling a shoebox sized container with a few needed and enjoyable items. We are excited to announce the first launch of the James Croft Evangelistic Association JOY Box Ministry.

You will experience true Christian JOY when you put Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last! Share this JOY with others this Christmas with JOY Boxes for nursing home residents. The JOY Boxes will be delivered to residents just in time for Christmas. JCEA will place a Gospel tract in each box as we are attempting to share the JOY of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For more information or to participate in this ministry visit JCEA JOY Box. New information, news and ideas concerning the program will be posted on this site as warranted.

The Best Job Ever

Christmas Spending Poll

How much will you spend on Christmas gifts this year? This is the question for our Blog Poll #20. You can share your answer in the left-hand column of this site. Voting will end on Saturday night.

DVD explores biblical star of Bethlehem

A Texas lawyer has produced a documentary that looks at the facts behind the most debated and celebrated star in history.

Rick Larson, an attorney and professor, wanted to produce an accurate portrayal of the biblical star of Bethlehem for a decorative set in his front yard one Christmas. That led him on a quest that spanned years and has resulted in the DVD titled, The Star of Bethlehem. The 63-minute documentary explores historical documents, scientific findings, and data that explain and confirm the account from the Book of Matthew.

Read more of this story on OneNewsNow.

Two Wayward Brothers


READ: Luke 15:25-32

It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again. —Luke 15:32

It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again. —Luke 15:32

The story of the prodigal son is actually the story of two wayward brothers and their loving father. It’s a universal story that represents every member of the human race.

I can’t fully identify with the prodigal. “Riotous living” is foreign to me. But the older brother’s self-righteous attitude—now that resonates with my spiritual struggle. His sin was perhaps more serious than an out-in-the-open immoral lifestyle. That’s because it was hidden—but easy to recognize when it surfaced.

Here are its characteristics: He chose anger instead of acceptance (Luke 15:28). He separated himself and “would not go in” (v.28). He said to his father, “this son of yours” (v.30), instead of calling him “my brother.” Clearly, he hadn’t experienced the wonder of grace.

Yet the father loved both sons unconditionally. With the prodigal, he ran out to welcome him. And with his older son, he “came out and pleaded with him” (v.28). There was no harsh scolding, just joy for the younger son and a longing heart for his older son. What a wonderful picture of how graciously God pursues us!

Which son represents you? Have you responded to your heavenly Father’s immeasurable love?
Dennis J. De Haan

Naught have I gotten but what I received,
Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed;
Boasting excluded, pride I abase—
I’m only a sinner saved by grace! —Gray

God’s love changes prodigal sons into precious saints.

For similar resources, search these topics:

Basics Of Faith > God > His Love

Utah trooper memorials ruled constitutional

A federal judge has agreed with Utah's Highway Patrol and Transportation Department, affirming they are doing nothing improper in allowing memorial crosses in honor of fallen troopers to be placed on state highways.

American Atheists had sued after alleging the crosses, placed at the request of fallen trooper's families, violated the Establishment Clause. (See earlier article) But a federal district court judge in Utah has rejected that claim. Byron Babione, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, is representing the families in the Utah Highway Patrol Association (UHPA) -- the civilian support group that donated the crosses.

Read more of this story on OneNewsNow.

The Importance of Fresh Produce

Two boys, aged eight and four, were discussing Adam and Eve.

The 8-year-old asked: "How did Adam and Eve die?"

And the 4-year-old said: "They ate bad fruit."

Heavenly Pavement

Monday, November 26, 2007

Thanks To Brewer Lake Baptist

I had an enjoyable time preaching at Brewer Lake Baptist Church in Day, Florida yesterday. I made some new friends and even seen some folks that I knew. We had a wonderful time of worship.

If you live in the Day area or are visiting, Pastor Matt Swain and everyone at Brewer Lake Baptist would love to have you visit with them for worship. The church is located just off CR53 in the town of Day, Florida.

Christian Bookstores Refuse to Sell Gay Study Bible

NOTE: This article contains descriptive language. I believe it is important for us to know what the Devil is up to around the world. We need to be much in prayer for the "political correctness" that is finding its way into homes and churches.

Conservative Christian bookstores are refusing to sell copies of a new Bible study guide that challenges standard New Testament translations that teach gay sex is sin.

U.S. distributor God’s Word to Women has banned the Australian publication and withdrawn another Bible translation by the same publishing company, Smith and Stirling, for promoting a lifestyle contradictory to scriptures, according to the Australian newspaper The Age.

Read more of this story on The Christian Post.

Survey: 7 of 10 Americans Prefer 'Merry Christmas' Over 'Happy Holidays'

When Americans go Christmas shopping, many prefer to see stores use the traditional phrase “Merry Christmas” in their seasonal advertising rather than “Happy Holidays,” a new poll found.

The survey released by Rasmussen Reports after the Thanksgiving holiday showed that 67 percent of Americans favor “Merry Christmas” while only 26 percent would choose “Happy Holidays.”

The poll results were the same for men and women and presented few demographic differences.

But a comparison between responses from Republicans and Democrats, however, revealed a sharp contrast.

Read more of this story on The Christian Post.

November Podcast Available


Edition: Vol. 2, No. 4
File Size: 19.8 MB
Length: 40 min. 34 sec.

Program Features:
Click any episode title to play.

You may receive e-mail notifications when new episodes of this program are released:
Subscribe to Walking with the Giant by Email

For more information about this ministry visit these sites:
You may also contribute financially to this ministry to help with production costs by following these links:
May God richly bless you for your prayerful and financial support!

Allergy

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Appointment With Counselor

Blog Poll #19 Results

The Blog Poll #19 question was, "What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?" and the results are:

  • My health 0 (0%)
  • My family 1 (16%)
  • My friends 0 (0%)
  • My income 0 (0%)
  • My country 0 (0%)
  • My salvation 5 (83%)
  • I have nothing to be thankful for this year. 0 (0%)
Total Votes: 6

Here are the results of Blog Poll #18.

NYSE Chairman gives personal plane to missionary agency

WAXHAW, N.C. - You might call it a non-traditional investment.

The chairman of the New York Stock Exchange has given his personal airplane to JAARS, the missionary support agency that serves Wycliffe Bible Translators in remote parts of the world.

Read more of this story on OneNewsNow.

Dreams And Visions

Children's Sunday School Bloopers

  • The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
  • Solomon, one of David's sons, has 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
  • Jesus talked about the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you.
  • It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Who Do You Blame?

Friday, November 23, 2007

Christmas Rush


NOTE: If you have a good digital photo of a great church sign, send it to me and I may post it on this site.

Some Things Never Change

Brewer Lake Baptist Sunday

I will be preaching in supply for Pastor Matt Swain on Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 11am at Brewer Lake Baptist Church. The church is located on Highway 53 in Day, Florida. Please be in prayer for this service.

No Back-Ups

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Give Peace A Chance

Johnny Cash - Thanksgiving Prayer

A Thanksgiving Blessing

Grandma's Thanksgiving Blessings

All the grandkids were visiting for Thanksgiving. Before dinner, Grandma made a lengthy speech about being thankful for her extra-special blessings, her four grandchildren.

Two seconds after she stopped speaking, chaos broke loose and the kids were yelling and grabbing for the home-made rolls. Grandma sat there, eyes closed with a tight squint on her face.

When asked what was the matter, she replied, "I'm just praying for a little patience to handle all these blessings."

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Purpose Drivin Poultry


A Thanksgiving Divorce?

An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about," the son screams.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,"the old man says. "We're sick and tired of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." And he hangs up.

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.

"Like Heck they're getting a divorce, she shouts. "I'll take care of this."

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced! Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" And she hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone, smiles and turns to his wife. "They're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

Survey: Many Christian Parents Choose to Satisfy Children Over God

Despite concern over the negative influence of media on young people, Christian parents are likely to spend more than $1 billion on media products this Christmas season, a new survey showed.

Seventy-eight percent of Christian parents had purchased DVDs of movies and TV programs in the past year for their teenagers and 87 percent had purchased DVDs for their children under 13, the latest Barna Group study found. Yet 26 percent of them did not feel comfortable with the DVD products they purchased.

About six out of 10 parents bought music CDs for their teen children but one out of every three of them had concerns about the content. Also, slightly more than half of all Christian parents had purchased video games for their children yet nearly half (46 percent) of parents of teens admitted to concerns about the content of those games.

Read more of this story on Christian Today.

Compliments For Sale

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Colorado city considers ban on red and green Christmas lights

A Colorado city is considering a plan that one attorney calls the epitome of the war against Christmas.

Tonight, the Fort Collins City Council will meet and decide the fate of a task force report that urges the city to decorate with white lights, winter symbols not traditionally associated with any particular holiday, and unadorned garlands of greenery. City staffers are also encouraged to remove ornaments or stars from trees and red ribbons from wreaths.

Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, says the task force is seriously misguided. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous that anyone would consider banning red and green because they are associated with Christmas, because they believe that anything associated with Christmas, being religious, has to be banned," he says. "I think this absurdity really underscores the extent to which this war against Christmas has escalated."

Read more of this story on OneNewsNow.

NOTE: Post your thoughts by clicking "comments" below.

Fate of Anne Frank tree hangs in balance

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An Amsterdam official called on Tuesday for a delay to the felling of a chestnut tree that Anne Frank could see as she hid from the Nazis.

A court was due to rule later on Tuesday on a move by conservationists to stop the felling of the 150-year-old tree, ordered for Wednesday because of fears it could fall as a fungal disease has spread through most of the trunk.

Marijke Vos, city environment councillor, asked the district responsible to delay cutting the tree down after Amsterdam was swamped with messages of protest from around the world.

Read more of this story on Christian Today.

The Defiant Turkey

Forced To Go?

Thanksgiving day was approaching and the family had received a Thanksgiving card with a painting of a pilgrim family on their way to church.

Grandma showed the card to her small grandchildren, observing: "The Pilgrim children liked to go to church with their mothers and fathers."

"Oh yeah?" her young grandson replied, "So why is their dad carrying that rifle?"

What Are You Thankful For?

Our current Blog Poll (#19) asks, "What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?" Several options are listed for you to choose from. You'll find the poll in the left-hand column of this site. Voting will continue through Saturday night.

Bad Things Happen To Good People

Monday, November 19, 2007

Blog Poll #18 Results

The Blog Poll #18 question was "What is your ideal way to spend Thanksgiving?" and the results are:

  • Spending time with loved ones. 11 (100%)
  • Watching football. 1 (9%)
  • Serving the needy. 1 (9%)
  • Eating to excess. 1 (9%)
  • I have to work on Thanksgiving. 0 (0%)
  • It's just another day. 0 (0%)
Total Voters: 11 (Each voter could make multiple choices in this poll.)

Here are the results of Blog Poll #17.

A Computerized Family

Straight To Heaven

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name . . . by which we must be saved. —Acts 4:12

An old spiritual warns, “Everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there.” Since heaven is God’s dwelling place where His presence and glory are manifested in all their splendor, He has the sovereign right to determine who will be admitted and under what conditions. Any other beliefs about the how and why of admission into heaven are sadly mistaken.

Take, for example, the confidence expressed by a well-known actress. Questioned about her faith, she replied, “I pray. I read the Bible. It’s the most beautiful book ever written. I should go to heaven; otherwise it’s not nice. I haven’t done anything wrong. My conscience is very clean. My soul is as white as those orchids over there, and I should go straight, straight to heaven.”

God alone determines who goes straight to heaven. In the Bible, God’s holy Word, He tells us that only those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior will be admitted. The apostle Peter said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Self-judgment regarding the purity of one’s soul and one’s heaven-deserving character is not the criterion. Only God’s Word gives us the standard for admission.
Vernon C Grounds

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There’s no other way but this;
I shall ne’er get sight of the gates of light,
If the way of the cross I miss. —Pounds

Christ believed is salvation received and heaven gained.

For similar resources, search these topics:

Basics Of Faith > Future/Prophecy > Heaven

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Recycled Employee

Saturday, November 17, 2007

New Bodies

Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. —Hebrews 12:2

In 1728, a young Ben Franklin composed his own tombstone epitaph:

The body of B. Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents worn out, and stript of its lettering and gilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work shall not be lost; for it will as he believ’d appear once more, in a new & more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.

In this epitaph, the wry wit of Franklin, the colonial Renaissance man, rings true to the biblical view of resurrection. The bodies we now possess are prone to aging, physical decline, and ultimately death. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ holds within it the promise of a new supernatural body raised in glory. The apostle Paul tells us, “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power” (1 Cor. 15:42-43).

As life takes its course in the aging process, we have the hope of a new body that will far outshine the original. Despite our aches and pains, our destiny belongs safely in the hands of “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Dennis Fisher

New bodies will be ours someday
According to God’s grand design,
Forever with the Lord to reign—
Praise God for the promise divine! —Hess

In the twinkling of an eye . . . we shall be changed.
—The Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 15:52)

For similar resources, search these topics:

Christian Life > Lifestyle issues > Aging