I love to pass along a great story, especially if it touches our lives in some way. So, let me share with you something that happened last week that blew my mind.

On Wednesday night, after prayer and Bible study one of the visiting young ladies was getting ready to leave when she discovered that she had a flat tire. The first cool thing happened when Matthew Bayliff and David Brunson changed her tire and saw it as a privilege! You guys are truly awesome!! Everything is fine and good right? No, not everything is “hunky-dory.” She needed a new tire. Really she needed at least two new tires, but didn’t have the money at this time to get them. Now there is only one place I take my cars to get tires—Boiling Springs Tire. I trust the guys, they are honest, and they are fair. So I told Martha Seals to take this young lady down there on Thursday and we could work out a deal. I didn’t really know what that meant, but I figured the Lord could handle a couple of tires in twelve hours. Here’s what happened next…

They pull into Boiling Springs Tire on Thursday morning and share the story. They just happened to have two good tires with a lot of life left in them. They balance, rotate and put on the two tires. Now just wait, the story gets better. I stop by later in the day to pay up and you know what they told me, “Don’t worry about it; we’ve got it covered. Chuck didn’t want to charge you guys for the tires.” Wow!

I want to personally thank everyone involved…David, Matthew, Martha, Chuck, Todd, and all the guys down at Boiling Springs Tire. You showed Christ to someone who really needed to see Him. God used you to open a heart and pave the way for a truly meaningful encounter with the gospel. I taught something a long time ago: It is not enough to believe the gospel, you must live it!

On more than one occasion I’ve seen the people at Calvary jump at the chance to show Christ by helping others in need. I could not imagine a better people to pastor. (I also could not imagine a better place to have my tires taken care of than Boiling Springs Tire.) You all challenge my life and warm my heart.

Scott

I’m sitting here thinking about my brother, Jack’s, baptism. I am also reflecting back on David Brunson’s as well. It was such an honor to be the one to baptize these men. I have been in the tank many times and God still humbles and amazes me every time someone is baptized. This brings me to a question I want to try and answer this week: “Why do people get baptized?”

For one, baptism is something the Lord expects of all His genuine followers. The Bible declares,

But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12)

Being baptized is just synonymous with being a disciple of Jesus Christ. God never imagined that His children would balk at being baptized.

Secondly, Jesus Himself was baptized and we should want to follow His example. Jesus’ life is not just something to write about and admire; His life is one that we should emulate. In fact that is part of what spiritual growth is about…becoming more like Jesus.

Finally, baptism is a public testimony. It is public because everybody should know that we mean business about fully following Jesus. We are not a secret society that does things behind closed doors; we are open about what we do. The church needs to see believers who are not ashamed of being identified with the One who gave His life publicly!

If you have not been baptized what are you waiting for? Give me a call so we can talk about it. I would love to be the one who baptizes you for the honor of God and the encouragement of others.

Calvary Is Awesome!

Scott

Relationships trump rules! Now I like things in their place and everybody operating on a “let’s cooperate” basis, but in real life it doesn’t happen that way. You see, “let’s cooperate” is code for “do it my way…or else!” I wish this was a lesson I learned a long time ago, but I admit that I am slow. Let me translate…

I like my schedules, my online calendar rules my day, my routine helps my day to run smoothly, my MapQuest on my phone gets me to my destinations in the shortest amount of time, etc. Do you see the common denominator? It’s all about me when it should be all about HIM and YOU. What I have allowed in my life (that is so very dangerous) is for rules to rule, while relationships have fallen on tough times. Yes, I am the proverbial guy who keeps running his bumper car into the corner thinking I’ll get turned around pretty soon. Well, pretty soon is now!

The life of Jesus is a great example of how relationships trump rules. John writes about an account in John 9:1,

And as he passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

Do you see it? What astounds me about this verse is that in the middle of a busy day going here and doing that Jesus noticed someone’s hurt. Too many times I have passed by someone hurting and not even noticed. I justify this by saying that I am a busy man or that somebody else will take care of that. What God is saying to me is, “Scott, I want you to stop and insert my grace and love.”

This digs deep into the core of my being…how about you? I know I’m not the only one out here suffering from relationship atrophy. No matter what gets stacked on your plate or how busy your day is make sure you notice people around you. Don’t ignore their hurts. Do something about it. Just walk across the room and insert grace and love into their lives. Our lives are meant to impact people right now for eternity!

I Love You,

Scott