Searching Old Truths for New Life

We will be having our church service at the river with a baptism to follow on August 30th. 

This year we are doing things different.

We will hold our morning service at the river at a new time of 10:30 am. So there will be no service at the church building on this day.

There will be a caravan leaving the church at 9:30 am for those who may not know how to get there.

Maps will be located in mailbox for the remainder of the week or email Pastor Robbie for one. You do NOT have to meet at the church to follow the caravan to attend. You may go directly to Martha's riverhouse if you know how to get there.   

The church will provide BBQ from Big Bob's, condiments, drinks and ice. Please plan to bring a sidedish or dessert. 

Things to bring:

1. Chairs

2. A dessert or side dish

3. Your fishing pole

4. Your bathing suit. (There's a wonderful dock and playground on the property as well.)

5. Bugspray

6. Sunscreen

Come join in the fun. It will be a great opportunity for fellowship.

If you are interested in being baptized, please contact Pastor Robbie at: Rstofel@msn.com

Directions to Martha Mark's Riverhouse
and Church Service at The River

From: (Church Address) 411 Sherman St SE, Decatur, AL 35601
To: 9779 Poplar Point Rd, Athens, AL 35611-6925 US
DRIVING DIRECTIONS
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A) 411 Sherman St SE, Decatur, AL 35601-3009 US
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    1. Start out going EAST on SHERMAN ST SE toward 6TH AVE
SE/US-31/AL-3.  (go 0.1 miles)
    2. Turn LEFT onto 6TH AVE SE/US-31 N/AL-3 N. Continue to follow US-31 N/AL-3 N.  (go 8.9 miles)
    3. Turn LEFT onto NUCLEAR PLANT RD/CR-20.  (go 6.7 miles)
    4. Turn LEFT onto COWFORD RD/CR-41.  (go 0.2 miles)
    5. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto NUCLEAR PLANT RD.  (go 2.6mile)
    6. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto SHAW RD.  (go 1.6 miles)
    7. Turn LEFT onto POPLAR POINT RD.  (go 1.1 miles)
    8. Turn LEFT to stay on POPLAR POINT RD.  (go 0.1 miles)
    9. 9779 POPLAR POINT RD is on the RIGHT.  (go 0.0 miles)
    >> ESTIMATED TIME: 33 minutes | DISTANCE: 21.28 miles
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B) 9779 Poplar Point Rd, Athens, AL 35611-6925 US
--------------------------------------------------
>> TOTAL ESTIMATED TIME: 33 minutes | DISTANCE: 21.28 miles

The phone number at the river house 729-6635.  And Martha's cell if you want 654-2362.

Rstofel@msn.com

Hello Friends,

There is a new post on my blog http://joeydavis.typepad.com . I began writing on that blog this morning as I was spending time with the Lord and thought you might enjoy what I received. I will return here with what the Lord places on my heart to share.

Hope all are having a great week and hope to see you Sunday. Pastor Robbie's message was awesome last Sunday, so come expecting to receive this Sunday as he pours his heart into every message as usual.

God Bless,

Joey

Have you ever woke up thinking about how good God is and how unworthy you may feel sometimes to be on the receiving end of His love? As I read over a few verses in Jeremiah this morning, I see the heart of the Father.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,

thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and go pray to Me and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me

with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

In the quiet of the morning, I am listening for God. In the still of the day, I am searching with my soul. As I reflect on the last four words from the verses written above, with all your heart, I question my faithfulness and understand His a whole lot better.

These thoughts bring me to the sharing of lyrics from a song by Jason Upton called "In The Silence." There is truth in the words of this song, and I believe all of us have uttered these words once or more in our lives across lips of inconsistency.

In The Silence

Tired of telling You, You have me

When I know you really don't

Tired of telling You I'll follow

When I know I really won't

Cause I'd rather stand here speechless

With no great words to say

If my silence is more truthful

And my ears can hear how to walk in Your ways

In the silence

You are speaking

In the quiet I can feel the fire

And it's burning, burning deeply

Burning all that it is that you desire to be silent, in me

Oh Jesus can You hear me?

My soul is screaming out

And my broken will cries teach me

What Your kingdom is all about

Unite my heart to fear You,

To fear Your holy name

And create a life of worship

In the spirit and truth of Your loving ways

Enjoy more of Jason Upton's music on http://jasonupton.com . Blessings~Joey

Yesterday, I had a good friend of my daughter e-mail me with questions about the threshing floor and its significance in our lives today. I love to see a hunger for the things of God within His word begin to draw His people to a deeper intimacy with Him. So while this is still fresh on my heart, I thought that I would share it with you.

Threshing floors were used in ancient times to separate grain from the chaff. These floors were made of a flat bedrock surface surrounded by a low fieldstone wall, and was elevated for drainage and exposed to the wind for winnowing (as seen in the picture above).

Once stalks of grain were harvested, they were place upon the threshing floor, where a two step process would take place. Step one, a threshing sledge made of wood with rocks or metal spikes on the bottom was pulled by oxen or donkeys over the grain to break down and separate the kernels of grain from the husk and straw. The same process could be achieved by having the oxen or donkey walk over the stalks of grain or beating the stalks with a heavy stick. The second step was to toss, or winnow, the broken stalks into the air with a large forked tool, usually constructed of wood. The wind would then carry the light chaff away while the heavier grain would fall to the threshing floor where then it could be gathered.Because of the need for wind, threshing floors were normally located upon hilltops or open fields, and were often used as landmarks or meeting places.

How do threshing floors apply to you and me today? In relation to the threshing floor, our hearts and souls can be an example of a threshing floor. Our time in prayer can be a threshing floor. Our worship services can be an example of a "threshing floor," where the most treasured things found deep with us are winnowed through, tossed in the air of fellowship with the Father, and only the most treasured things in a holy perspective remain.

Have you ever had a threshing floor experience, where you went to the floor with more than you could truly carry, and by the time that you walked away from fellowship with God the only thing that remained was the cream of the crop which lay at your feet? The breeze that carries away the needless and graciously leaves the needed things in our lives has a holy place within our memories. Think back to when the wind of God blessed your sweaty brow. As my son Malachi calls the wind the breath of God, I am thankful that He is as close as a breath. (2 Samuel 24:18-25, Matt. 3:11-12)~Joey

I want to take the time to thank many of you that came to me today with gratitude for the time spent writing here on the church blog. I do enjoy writing, but most of all I enjoy praying for what God wants to share through me to all that visit this blog and believing that what I get within my secret place will lift you up and encourage you throughout the week. My family and I have enjoyed the past several months at Vintage Faith and know that God is doing a great work through the unity of this church. I look forward to getting to know each of you better. If you need anything, you may reach me at potterhouse182@aol.com .~Joey

Do you know what discouragement feels like? It is a feeling that can rob your spirit, soul, and body. It can effect your spirit through struggling to pray, it can attack your soul through a battling in your mind, will, and emotions, and discouragement can even rob you of your physical health. Other words for discourage are dishearten, dispirit, demoralize, dampen one's spirits, dash one's hopes, or even take the wind out of one's sail. I will even attempt to give my own definition of discouragement as "to take an arrow to the heart without loosing one's life."

David's life, found throughout the Old Testament, can be a great example of one man's life having great highs, and great lows. But what I want you to focus on today is how David reacted in 1 Samuel 30 when he was faced with a great low time in his life. I won't ruin the story for you, but will only highlight what David did while feeling abandonment with discouragement. David was greatly distressed, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

I can relate to David and how he felt during this time in his life. Arrows to the heart, wind taken out of your sail while waves crash on the sides of your soul, but then I can recall times that I have risen like Paul after being stoned and left for dead just outside the city. From these personal feelings I leave you with words given to me by our Lord...

I chose this picture to bring a smile to your face today and also to share one of the greatest desires of God for our lives. Throughout the Bible, high priority is given to the subject of spiritual unity. For example, just before His death, Jesus prayed fervently to His Father that His followers would be brought to complete unity-like the relationship He has with His Father. The Book of Acts documents how this wonderful relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ came into being after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. True spiritual unity flows from the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God's people.

Listen to the words of David as he reveals the splendor of unity...

Psalm 133

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing-

Life forevermore.

From the words of Charles Jefferson come this, "The living stones have no abiding life, unless built into the walls of a growing temple." Truly we must not lose our desire to grow the body of Christ, but in doing so we must never forget to embrace one heart at a time. Our compassion can cover many with words of affirmation, but to stop and look someone in the eye, listen with intent to the words that are coming from their soul, and affirm one that you hear those words and that you care is truly fulfilling the work that Christ called us to do. Though found in the throng of so many, it only took one to seize the attentiveness of Jesus' heart. Whether it was the life of blind Batimaeus, the woman with the flow of blood, or Zaccaeus perched in a tree to see the passing Messiah, Jesus always had and always will have time for one.

Jesus' time was nearing the end with His disciples, and the cross, death, resurrection, and ascension of His life was coming to a dramatic climax. Before this emotional time took place, Jesus' prayer for His believers was that God would make them one.

"I do not pray for these (disciples) alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

"that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; That they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

"I in them, and You in Me; That they may be perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.~ John 17:20-23

Let our prayer also be the prayer that Jesus prayed for us, "Make us one, Lord!"

Blessings, Joey