An Amazing Meeting

In Luke 9:18-22,"And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day."
Luke 9:28-36, "And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen." (empahsis mine)

If you were put on the spot, could you say concisely what the central fact of your faith is?

Jesus came to die

We explain the death of Jesus was on our behalf. It atoned for our sins, and reconciled us to God. These phrases and more, mean nothing if we are unclear about who Jesus is. He is the only one who could truly save, at terrible cost. He looked beyond that cost as He told His disciples He would rise again.

He gave a complete picutre of events in one sentence, Luke 9:22. The subsequent verses, vv23-26, clearly set out the response required if we intend to follow Jesus: a wholehearted commitment that will cost us dearly, a rethink of our priorities; a total life change.

Who do you say I am?

What we think of Christ is crucial and determines our destiny.

The question to Peter was to draw out a confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Thinking and actually saying are two very different things. Verbalising our faith in Jesus will produce a reaction from others. We need the courage to stand up for our convictions. The events of the next passage, vv29-31, should give us confidence!

Looking on this wonderful scene we see Jesus as the man and then glimpse His majesty - the human and divine. The experience took place as Jesus prayed and was mainly for His benefit. It confirmed God's approval of Jesus, His Son and was an encouragement as Jesus prepared for His imminent suffering. It was also a confirmation to Him of His purpose as the One who would fulfill the prophesies in scripture.

Wake up!

Are we so dozy at times that we miss out on some of the wonders God wants to share with us? Do we acknowledge Jesus as Lord but in some senses take Him for granted because we have known Him for some time? What an indictment on the reality of our faith!

Are we expectant when we pray? Do we hunger for an immediate experience of God as we commune with Him, or has our prayer life lost any sense of expectation? Prayer is an honour and we should apply ourselves to it eagerly. Through prayer we can enjoy growth in wisdom, grace and joy as we share in communion with our wonderful God.

Encouragement

When Peter was fully awake, he found God was graciously confirming his previous confession that Jesus was the Christ of God. His words spoken as rebuke and instruction, confirmed Jesus as the fulfilment of Deuteronomy 18:15.

We must not minimise our Lord's humanity or His divinity. We must "hear him". Our ability to follow Jesus only comes from knowing who He is and what He accomplished on our behalf.

Until the Shout,

Sis. Tammy

Just Catching Up

I know, it has been ages since I've written. Sorry! Things are a little wild and it looks to stay that way for the better part of the next 4 months. We have a horrendous schedule.

First off, our church has merged with another church (of course IFB) and my husband has taken over the pastorate. Which means a lot more responsibility as we have more folks and a building that has to be taken care of.

The inside of the church has to be repainted (requirement for lease renewal) and we are going to be working on that in July. All the walls, doors, baseboards, etc. have to be wiped down before we can even start to paint. I believe we are going to start on that next Friday. The last week of the month my husband and two other men from the church are going to start the painting. Then we are having a scheduled work day the last Saturday of the month to try and finish it all off.

As many of you know we are doing school throughout the summer so we can be done by April of next year to take a short furlough (VERY short), so I'm doing all that as well. No rest for the weary, right?

August is busy also. We are going to youth camp for a week. This should be interesting. Would you like to know how long it has been since I've been to youth camp? Probably a good 15-17 years ago. As we live in one of the wetter countries, please pray that it WON'T rain!!! LOL LOL

September is even busier than August. The first weekend we are having a short revival meeting with one of our supporting pastors. I'm looking forward to it. They are not that common over here (although my husband tries to make sure we have one once a year even if it can't be for a whole week) and I think that is what makes them so refreshing. It isn't like in the States, you know. If you get discouraged over there you can just hop in the car and go to a meeting somewhere. I mean somebody, somewhere is having a meeting you can go to to get encouraged. NOT HERE. You remember that verse where it says, "and David encouraged himself in the LORD"? Well, it's either that or nothing many times; so for us to have a meeting is such a blessing.

The second week in September we are having a CRB class. This is something that is being required by the government in order to work with children. If you have not been cleared, as of October you CANNOT work with children. My husband and I went to a class in May and we have both received our clearance checks, PTL. But we do need others to take the class because if not, there will be NO Sunday School class if we are away.

Then the third weekend we are having our Harvest Service. This a British tradition and what they do is have a special message about the harvest (both spiritual and agricultural) and then they have a proper sit down dinner (of course). Sometimes churches will collect food and things to give to maybe a needy family or something like that. It is a wonderful time to thank the Lord for His bountiful blessings.

The last week of September we are all busy with the children finishing up the PACE they are working on and me trying to get the house ready to be in the States for 3 weeks. We have a church that wanted to fly us in for their missions meeting, so we will be gone for the first 3 weeks in October.

Are you tired yet? I am and all I did was write about it! HA! HA! HA! This is just a quick update. Hope to post again soon.

Please keep us in your prayers as we unite as one with the merging of these two congregations. We have known the former pastor and wife for 13 years and they have both been a great blessing and encouragement to us through the years. He has felt the call to Evangelism, etc. Bro. Pavitt is now the Director of Lifegate Baptist Missions. He is still serving in the church in whatever area he is needed, but he is also preaching in missions conferences and etc. Bro. Pavitt has a deep desire to see his own people reached for the glory of God. And who better than a national man. He has been busy preaching around England and also doing much tract distribution and street evangelism, including open air preaching. Pray for him, that the Lord would use him in a might way. We count it an honour and a privilege, as well as humbling to be serving at Lifegate.

Until the Shout,
Sis. Tammy

God's Simple Plan of Salvation

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.
“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” “ . (Lev. :11)
". . . without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).

“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . .’ " Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.
Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this over and over, without leaving, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:

Pray -- you talk to God.
Read your Bible -- God talks to you.
Witness -- you talk for God.

You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8)

“Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).


It is my prayer that if you don't know the Lord, you will come to know Him today.

Saved to the Uttermost,
Sis. Tammy

What's new?

Well, not a whole lot actually. LOL

Caleb finished school on Tuesday and Rebekah finished yesterday. WHOOHOO!!!!!!!!!! Only for 2 1/2 weeks though, then we start back the new school year since we need to be finished by the end of March beginning of April to go on a short furlough.

I was able to get some semblance of spring cleaning done the last 2 days though. Caleb's room is sooooo small that it doesn't take long for him to run out of room for things. Praise the Lord he isn't a pack-rat! God above is the only one that really knows how glad I am of that. Rebekah on the other hand tries to be, but she went through her room yesterday all by herself and did an excellent job. She was rather ruthless. Good job, Sissy!!! I had them help do base boards (skirting boards if your in the U.K.), wipe down walls, etc., etc. They are such good little helpers.

Today, they were dusting and washing walls and base boards again. Rebekah took the hoover (vacuum) attachment and went around the edges of the carpet. All this while I cleaned down the walls and etc. in the downstairs bathroom and many other numerous things. We worked hard and got a lot done. PTL!!

I thank the Lord for my children. They are not perfect by no means, and I'll be the first to tell you so; but they ARE hard workers and like to help. What a blessing!

Even Daddy got some jobs done. He mowed the grass and has cleaned out the garage (he is this minute at the tip (dump) getting rid of some junk) and run a lot of errands. We've all been busy bees. Better busy than bothering! Amen?

Oh also, the children and I have been to the dentist today. My husband goes next month. AND, we have guest coming for dinner tonight. Talk about a crazy, busy day. Oh, my! I'm glad I'm making something easy for supper. Just having Baked Boneless Pork Steaks (cheap beef version! LOL), jacket (baked) potatoes, mixed veg. (caul./broc./carrots [steamed]), with fruit cobbler to finish. I can put the meat and potatoes in to bake and the veggies in a steamer. While we eat I'll bake the cobbler. Talk about easy! Thank the Lord!

I'll give you this cobbler recipe real quick as it's is really quick to make.

Fruit cobbler:
2 cans any type of canned fruit or Pie filling (if using canned fruit make sure you drain it and set the juice aside)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Put butter in a dish and let melt.
Mix flour, sugar and milk together and pour into the dish with melted butter.
Drop fruit in the batter and bake for about 40 minutes.

Tip:
If using pie filling it might be better to put it in first and pour over top the batter. This is good and I make it often, just vary the fruit used.

Oh, well enough about us. I pray everyone has a lovely day.


Until the Shout,
Sis. Tammy

Another List

THIS IS REALLY FUN TO DO. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. This is for your entire life!

(X) Gone on a blind date -- With a friends fiance's brother. Oh boy!
(X) Skipped school
(X) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
(X) Been on the opposite side of the country -- Yes (The U.K. isn't that wide! LOL)
(X) Gone to Washington , D.C
(X) Swam in the ocean ... Or just waded
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robber
(X)Recently colored with crayons
( )Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about ---Does traveling to a meeting on Deputation or Furlough count? If so, most definitely.
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
( ) Been skinny dipping outdoors
(X) Gone to the movies

1. Any nickname? TERBY-- My initials were T.E.RB. (Tammy Elizabeth Ranee Buck), so my family just added a Y. I know, TOOOO much info.
2. Mother's name? Jaqualine (goes by Jackie)
3. Favorite drink? Code Red Mountain Dew, how I miss it. OR Fountain Coke with the cherry syrup. OH MAN, my mouth is watering!!!!
4. Tattoo? NO
5. Body Piercing? Does having your ears pierced count as the same?
6. How much do you love your job? It's a full time 24/7 job, but also a GIFT from God.....I love being a mom!
8. Favorite vacation spot? So far, I've enjoyed Greece the most.
9. Ever been to Africia? No
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Not that I remember
11. Ever been on TV? I don't think so
12. Ever steal a traffic sign? no
13. Ever been in a car accident? yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4
15. Favorite salad dressing? Ranch
16. Favorite pie? Cherry
17. Favorite number? 5 (Grace)
18. Favorite movie?
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? Mostly anything chocolate! LOL
21. Favorite food? Is chocolate a food? HA! HA! HA! HA! (remember I'm a weight watcher girl)
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
23. Favorite brand of body wash or soap? Bath & Body Works' Cherry Blossom
24. Favorite toothpaste? Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
25. Favorite smell? The smell of Sunday Dinner cooking when I open the front door after church on Sunday morning.
26. How do you exercise? ummm....and that is?
28. What do you do to relax? a good book and a nice hot bath with Bath & Body Works smell goods.
29. Furthest place you will send this message? Blog world-- and that is everywhere!


The things we learn about folk from all these lists! Kind of scary isn't it? LOL

Until the Shout,
Sis. Tammy