Will Jesus Work In A Bar?

From a bar to a church

This question came to my mind as I read about a Kentucky church that started out in a bar. Gospel Light Baptist Church of Hazard, headed by Pastor Chris Fugate, will celebrate its one-year anniversary this year. Pastor Fugate, a state trooper and evangelist, oversaw a policemen's prayer group. One morning as they were praying, a non- Christian gentleman drove up and offered them his bar for a church. The interior of the building had black-painted walls, a dance floor and Budweiser signs everywhere, but the group moved in and within a year their membership had grown to 400 and they had baptized 100 people. Isn't God amazing?

The strippers go to church

I heard this story this week. A stripper from Miami was murdered by her husband. When a group of ladies from a nearby church heard of it,they took flowers to the club and offered their condolences to the manager. No, this club didn't turn into a church, but all the strippers were in church that Sunday.

A beautiful teenager

Which grandmother does not boast about her grandchildren? I am as guilty as any, but one of my co-workers has really great reasons to boast. You see, her granddaughter was born a preemie, weighed less than one pound and was not expected to live very long. My friend brought one of the diapers and a vest the family has kept to remind them of God's awesome goodness. She brought them to show another co-worker who was receiving a lot of scary news from her doctor about her pregnancy. Let me tell you, when I saw the clothing my eyes became misty. That vest and diaper would not fit an average-sized doll. The child's mother had them specially ordered from another state. Today, the child is a lovely teenager who recently celebrated her sixteenth birthday.

Will He work in a bar?

The answer is yes. Jesus will work anywhere you want him to. He will work in your heart, in your home, in the heart of your loved ones, on your job, and even in a bar. Ephesians 3 : 20 says, He is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think." Jesus Himself said, "... With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10 : 27). If you are worried, or having doubts about God answering your prayers, feast on these scriptures and see what God can do.

Everybody Ought To Know

Behold the Lamb of God (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today Christians all over the world are  celebrating Palm Sunday, the commemoration of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, just a few days before He was crucified. Every year my church puts on an Easter Cantata to portray this historic event. This year the theme  was "Everybody ought to know" based on the chorus by that name. And as I watched the old, familiar events played out before me, I thought what a wonderful way to present the Savior to those who know, as well as, those who don't know Him.


So, let me ask you, do you know who Jesus is? In case you don't know, Jesus is:


1. The Savior of the world. 


He came to this earth as a little babe, born to a virgin named Mary, who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. However, Jesus was not conceived through the union of Mary and Joseph. The Bible says, "Behold , a virgin shall be with child , and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is , God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." ( Matthew 1 : 23 - 25).  Isaiah 33: 22 says,  "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us."


2. The spotless lamb of God.


"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith , Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1 : 29).  In the Old Testament, God commanded the children of Israel to sacrifice a lamb as an atonement for their sins. But the lamb always had to be without spot or blemish.  "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats" ( Exodus 12 : 5). After the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt, God instructed them to keep a passover feast in celebration of this event. This was held on the fourteenth day of the first month. Fast forward to the New Testament and we see Jesus prophesying to His disciples that He would be betrayed around the time of the passover. And while the disciples prepared for the passover, the scribes and pharisees were plotting to kill Jesus. Only Jesus, because He was born without sin and lived a sinless life, was worthy to became the passover lamb.


He is seated at the right hand of God the Father 


"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool (Matthew 22:44). After Jesus died and was buried, He rose on the third day and later ascended into heaven. "And it came to pass , while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven" ( Luke 24 : 51). And how do we know He is seated on God's right hand. First, David prophesied it in the quote from Matthew and Jesus stated it boldly when He was being tried by the high priest. "Jesus said , I am : and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14: 62). " So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right handof God" (Mark 16: 19).


He is coming again


Jesus told His disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am , there ye may be also" (John 14 : 3). "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn , and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24 : 30). "Behold , he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen" (Revelations 1 : 7). When Jesus came the first time He came as a helpless little baby lying in a manger. When He comes the next time, He is coming as ruler and judge.


Yes, everybody ought to know what Jesus means to us as believers. We do not boast idly about Him or our relationship with Him. Everything we know of Jesus is authenticated in Scripture, and this is why the pageant we put on at our church each year, the Scriptures we read, the hymns we sing never grow stale to me, because they solidify my knowledge of my Savior and the hope I have in Him. 

Cutting And Pasting God's Word

Image via Wikipedia

There's a new move afoot to subvert God's teachings through His holy Word. I just finished reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol which, as those of you who have read other books by this author will know, deals with the subject of Freemasonry. In the book, one of the main characters extols the virtues of the Holy Bible and encourages the protagonist, Michael Langdon, to read it. However, he goes on to say that the whole Bible is a parable, full of hidden codes and meanings which will be revealed to us at the proper time.