Our guest blogger is Jimmie Davis, who serves on staff at FBS as a Ministry Assistant and is on the Women's Ministry Team. Jimmie is the wife of Sam Davis, the Associate Pastor

Praying Mightily or Not at All

When God has a plan, it is amazing to see how He begins to stir the hearts of His people. God has been drawing my heart toward a deeper prayer life with Him for some months now. He has impressed on me to pray more, to pray more effectively, and to pray more seriously. When discussing this with my husband some time back, I found that God had been doing the same in his life.  All the while, without our awareness, God was drawing our Pastor and his wife, Karyn, to call our church into “Forty days of prayer and fasting.” It seems everywhere I turn there it is again…a focus on prayer.  In our staff devotions on Tuesday mornings…we have been studying “The Lord’s Prayer.”  In our staff meetings on Tuesday afternoons…we have been studying prayer.  Karyn has called the women of our church to pray every Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. in The Parlor of our church. She is also calling the women of our church together to pray on Saturday, February 28, 9:00-10:00 a.m.  Everywhere I turn, the focus is prayer.

If you are like me, your prayer life has been erratic at times. Most of the time I pray, but sometimes I don’t.  I tend to pray more when I feel fearful or when someone I love is sick or in trouble. Often I pray when I need a miracle or when I have done and tried everything I know to do.  Recently I was at a political prayer event and heard a clergyman say, “When everything else fails, go to God in prayer.”  I wanted to stand up and shout, “No, go to God first!”  But…then the Lord pierced my heart and I had to face the hard question… Am I guilty of this very thing?  Honestly, I had to confess my sin of trying to do it myself instead of depending on God.  

I am learning that prayer is serious business. Lives depend on it at times. Mountains can be moved when we call on the name of Almighty God. I believe prayer is a real struggle for most of us simply because the devil doesn’t want us to do it. He knows that our prayers summon God to work.  E.M. Bounds, the great preacher and writer on prayer says this, “Mighty evil forces surge around the closets of prayer.” He goes on to say that we must pray mightily or not at all.[1] Dabbling in prayer can be a dangerous habit. When we halfheartedly pray, it can be likened to taking one or two pills of an antibiotic. You may get better for a day or so, but before long the infection comes back with a vengeance. Mighty evil forces don’t give up easily. The Lord has been teaching me that I must pray mightily and never cease. It is amazing when I give God my full attention; He gives me a deeper understanding of spiritual things. The words of Scripture jump from the page and I “get it.”  Praying mightily doesn’t mean eloquent speech. It means that you submit your will to His will and pray from the depths and groaning of your heart to God It is a deep and intimate relationship, not simply a “wish list.”

I encourage you to find a “prayer closet” somewhere to spend time alone talking to the Father. It may be your bathroom, your clothes closet, or simply a chair in the corner of your bedroom where you can be alone with God. Pour your heart out to Him and listen to what He says back to you.  I am also inviting you to join our women every Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. in the Parlor and to attend the Women’s Prayer time on Saturday, February 28 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the dining hall.  As we approach this “Forty days of Prayer and Fasting” on March 4, 2015, I urge you to ask God now how He wants you to be involved.  Once you’ve tasted mighty prayer with God, you will never want to just dabble in pray again. 

 Jimmie Davis

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[1] Bounds, E.M. “The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer” (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1990)563

Our guest blogger today is Makayla Springsteen. Mikayla recently graduated from high school and is serving in South Africa for a year. We are so proud of you Makayla!

Ladies of First Baptist, during my time in Africa so far, God has been teaching me many things. I began to pray and ask Him what I should share with you and I found a simple illustration. In my first few weeks in Africa, I got to go on a safari. For the first mile or so all we saw were trees and mountains and I was so amazed by them. Their simple beauty and uniqueness captured my attention. As planned, we drove along and we started to see all kinds of wild animals in their natural habitat. From giraffe, to hippos, to elephants, and rhinos, we got to see it all. As I started to look at the beauty of the animals, I forgot about the beauty that had first caught my attention. I began to loose interest in the environment and focus only on trying to find the next animal. In this situation that wasn't a bad thing, but in our walk with The Lord it is dangerous to loose sight of our first love and turn to those "beautiful" things that take our attention away from God. In Hebrews 12:2  It says, "to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and perfecter of our faith." He tells us in His Word to turn our eyes to Him, but how often do I sneak a peak, or look towards things of this world that take my attention away from The Lord. As we left the safari and drove out the same mile of trees and mountains we drove in on, I got to see the biggest most beautiful sun set over the mountains, and once again it was a beautiful picture. It is the same way with our life in Christ, no matter where we stray or where we look to, at the end of the day when we look back to Christ, he takes us back as His own and makes our lives into a beautiful picture to bring Him glory.

Love,
Makayla

Our guest blogger today is Susan Feaster, one of our favorite bloggers! Susan always has a word for women right where they are in life no matter what your age. I hope you enjoy her words of wisdom today!

"PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT......OR DOES IT?"

My eight year old grandson loves baseball.  He loves it so much that he plays on two different teams, and recently played in a tournament with a third team that was short a player.  Even while we were on our family vacation at the beach, he was practicing his pitching and batting techniques.  Because practice makes perfect.

You likely have heard that phrase somewhere along the way.....practice makes perfect.  Maybe from a teacher or a ball coach.  Maybe from your parents.  I'm quite certain that in my years as   a piano teacher, I said it myself.  Always with a smile on my face, I'm sure, as I uttered that mantra....practice makes perfect.....while at the same time giving instruction to do it again.

Over the years I have come to believe that phrase is not entirely accurate.  Practice doesn't make perfect.  Only perfect practice makes perfect.  After all, if you continually practice something......whether a piano scale or a multiplication table or an athletic technique......incorrectly, the end result is that you have learned the wrong thing!

What is the point of practice anyway?  Of those endless repetitions?  Practice serves more than just filling time.  Some might say that practice is done in order to get it right, whatever the "it" might be, whether in music or in math or in athletics or in any other endeavor.  And I suppose that is true.  But I think practice is more than that.  The point is not that we always get it right.  It's so that we never get it wrong.
Let's apply that point to multiplication tables as an example.  If you drill repeatedly (practice) on your 9 times table, for example, you will learn that 9x7=63.  Once you have practiced that enough, you will always know that 9x7=63.  Further, you will never think that 9x7=72, or any other number.  Always and only 63.  You won't have to stop and try to figure it out.  Or count it out on your fingers.  Or question whether or not it is true.  If you have practiced enough, if you have learned this fact well, then you will always instinctively know it.  You will always get it right.

If a pianist practices the C major scale repeatedly, and correctly, so that the notes and the finger pattern is learned, then that pianist will always be able to correctly play that scale without even having to think about it.  It becomes an ingrained habit, one that aids in playing more complex pieces of music.  And it’s all because of perfectly practicing that very basic C major scale.

Let’s apply that principle to the spiritual realm.  The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to "charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith......by [this] some have made shipwreck of their faith.  (1 Timothy 1:3-4, 19 ESV).

How do we hold to sound doctrine?  How do we practice our doctrine in such a way as not to "make a shipwreck of our faith"?  I have come to understand that the place to begin is in the Word of God itself.  I long to know what God has to say, rather than relying solely on what others say about Him.  I hunger for the Word of God, rather than relying on books about the Word of God.

I have learned that I must immerse myself in the Word of God.  When I read it regularly and repeatedly and hide it in my heart, it becomes so ingrained in me that I recognize with certainty when something I hear is contrary to the Word.  My senses become finely tuned to what God has to say.  The Word becomes my plumb line against which everything else is measured. I know exactly where to turn when questions come.
I desire to get it right, and not get it wrong!  Does this mean I will never make a mistake? Does it mean that you will never make a mistake? No.  Even the best batter sometimes swings at a bad pitch.  Even the best musician sometimes plays a wrong note.  Applying the practice makes perfect principle won’t make us perfect people, but it will give us the tools we need to make wise, godly choices in our daily living.

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."       (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB)

Our guest blogger today is Rebecca Walker. Rebecca is a Senior at Dorman High School and is a member of the Student Ministry at First Baptist Spartanburg. God has given her a heart for missions. Rebecca is blogging today about her recent mission trip to Wales. We look forward to seeing how God uses Rebecca in His Kingdom!

Croeso i Gymru! Welcome to Wales! I heard and saw this phrase many times throughout my nine days in Caernarfon. I never saw anything about leaving though, or maybe I did and just never noticed it. I once heard someone say, “It is a curious thing to watch a dream die.” I would say, it is even more curious to have God open a door and to stand before it but having to walk away because it wasn’t time to walk through it yet. I would be lying if I said my heart didn’t ache when I left Wales or that I wish that God had just said stay. But, I am so blessed by God’s provisions to have me there when I was. I will forever have the amazing memories of the events in Caernarfon. A few being the new friends I made, prayer walking a beautiful town, temporary tattoos with Katarina, trying to learn some Welsh, eating amazing foods and sweets, and especially the four salvations in the street in front of our house. I will forever remember the way that God is moving in that town and that area. Now that I’m home I’ve realized I left something there. My heart. I have been praying and seeking God’s will in my life concerning missions. I had never felt at home here in the states. I never found my niche. I had done other missions both nationally and internationally and had never felt settled. When I got to the UK something felt right.

I know that the Lord has a special time for me to be where He has called me, but I know that His hand is unwavering over North Wales and He has a plan for hope for them. Wales, once being a place of great revivals, will be that same place once again with hope in Christ Jesus. I ask that you pray that they no longer have to be hopeless, but rather see that they can have endless hope in Jesus through salvation. Pray for the chapels there to be revived. I ask that you pray for the young people of Caernarfon, that their hardened hearts and post-Christian lifestyles would change because they can see purpose and greatness in what the Lord has to offer them.

I miss my Welsh friends so much. I miss the closeness of the other team members, the walks around the square, our late night card games, and I miss the bonds we made because I could look at the friends we made and see God moving in a drastic way.

Please pray for the Welsh people as well as the Celt, the organization that we worked with. Pray that they can effectively reach all of the people groups speaking a Celtic language so that they may show them Christ. Pray that they may have people saying, “Send me!” And most of all please pray for global missions all over the world, that we, as Christians, can help make known the precious and Holy Name above all Names, Jesus Christ, in every nation and in every tongue. 

I heard something interesting this week that I had not thought about. In Revelation 7:9-10, it speaks of all the different people worshipping God, singing and crying out to Him. As promised we will be able to know everything in whole instead of partially. Understanding is very important. In order to communicate the gospel clearly, we must know more than the language, we must learn the culture and communicate with people on a deep heart level. Strive to learn the heart language of a people group whether they be a local group or half way across the world. Sharing Christ in a heart language will bring understanding.

I am so thankful to the Lord for this experience and I want to say thank you to all of those who helped me, prayed for me, and encouraged me, it means so much more than you could even understand.

Our guest blogger today is Kathy Dalton. Kathy and her husband, Daryl, serve faithfully as volunteers in our church with students, media, and many other things. Kathy serves as the nurse for many Student Ministry trips and is always willing to give of her time and talents. Kathy's claim to fame is being the mother of Emily Katherine, Andrew and Michael. Emily has served on staff as an Intern for the past two summers at First Baptist and was our guest blogger a few weeks ago.

The Wedding that Was

Kathy Dalton

I will never forget the night our middle son, Andrew, was born. He was such a precious little baby boy and filled our lives with such joy. Before I knew it, Andrew had graduated from Dorman High School and headed to the University of SC in Columbia.  Our family went through a rough spot during Andrew's sophomore and junior years due to the economy affecting our finances. Andrew was hit the hardest being away from family with no money flowing to help with his expenses.  Providentially, Andrew turned to Young Life, Midtown Church, and side jobs as his hiding places of survival, but family communication dwindled to a trickle. My husband, Daryl, and I loved our son with all of our hearts and tried relentlessly to rebuild our relationships with him. We wanted so desperately to help him see how much we loved him, and how proud we were of the man he had become. 

Andrew officially started dating a young woman named Katherine his senior year. The Lord used her to help bridge the gap in communication and rebuild our strained relationship. We had known Katherine since Andrew's freshman year at University of South Carolina and somehow knew in our hearts that she would be the one he would marry someday. You can imagine the joy we felt on Christmas Eve, sitting in Chick-Fil-A with my parents and family in Virginia when Andrew stated, "I am going to ask Katherine to marry me and I want to get married May 31st in Columbia.  How does that work with your schedules"? 

Hmmm...Our daughter, Emily Katherine, was planning to go to Costa Rica for the summer.  Michael, our oldest son, has Leadercast videos to shoot in May.  Daryl and I both were getting ready for our Discipleship groups to graduate. Grammy and Papa had already paid for a vacation the last week of May.  But none of that mattered!  With the announcement of Andrew’s wedding we all mentally cleared our schedules and said "OK, let’s do it"!  Everyone was excited and eager to welcome Katherine into our family. 

In early February, Katherine said "yes" to Andrew's proposal and we all went to work with planning the parts we would play in the celebration.  Neither family was originally from South Carolina so we all felt we were essentially planning a long distance wedding.  In planning the rehearsal dinner, we wanted to provide Andrew and Katherine with the best celebration possible with no stress on their part.  After endless internet searches, phone calls, interviews, budget reviews, menu discussions and rehearsal details finalization, we finally decided upon a location.  The venue came with a caterer so we were all set, so we thought. When I questioned an item on the cost breakdown the caterer abruptly canceled our contract and left us in the cold!  After tears, phone calls, more internet searches and visits, we found our perfect caterer.  On the other end of the line, a sweet voice said "Don't you worry Ms. Kathy we will take care of you and I will personally make sure your son's wedding is perfect".  Again, I was in tears.  I thanked her graciously and she stated, “I believe the Lord brought us together to celebrate your son’s wedding".  My immediate thought…God’s ways are perfect. 

Fast forward to May 30th in Columbia, SC.....Lots of preparation and planning had gone into the evening of the rehearsal dinner and we wanted it to be perfect.  Tables were set, caterer was ready and everyone arrived to celebrate Andrew and Katherine's marriage. Each of us stood to tell about our love for the couple and leave them with advice.  Tears were shed over stories by family and friends who love both Andrew and Katherine as much as we do. God brought everything together perfectly. 

The wedding day had finally arrived. The one we all had anticipated back in December was here and we were all in our places ready to celebrate and welcome a new daughter into our family.  Katherine was beautiful, Andrew was as handsome as ever, and the wedding party stood before us as their Young Life Pastor shared the gospel to everyone in attendance.  After songs, vows, and ring exchanges the bride and groom walked away in celebration.  The night went so fast and before we knew it was time to say good bye and watch the wedding couple, our son and new daughter, drive away to Austin, Texas for their honeymoon. 

In looking back over Andrew’s life, I am so thankful that God uses people and circumstances to work His perfect will in our lives.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and reflecting back to the tough years, I truly believe God was carrying Andrew and helping to meet his needs the same as He did ours.    Life with our children goes so fast and yes, we as parents make mistakes, but thankfully God heals and makes us new through Him and His grace. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you," declares The Lord,

 "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)