Kevin A. Pierpont
Higgins Lake Baptist Church
7/25/04

An inventor once said (and sometimes I think we should have listened to this fellow),

Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility — a development which we should waste little time dreaming about. (Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor)

The chairman of the board for IBM in 1943 said,

I think there is a world market for about five computers. (Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of the Board of IBM)

A recording company expert said in 1962,

“We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out.”

Obviously these people were completely wrong about the future.

—Read the Rest of the Entry…

Kevin A. Pierpont
Higgins Lake Baptist Church
7/18/04

“John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave.

A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men with you there?” Paton knew no men were present—but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.” (Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18)

—Read the Rest of the Entry…

We’ve had some wonderful northern Michigan weather up here in the north country for the last week or so. It’s been cool with low humidity, it’s been rainy and soggy it been hot and soggy and back to cool with low humidity again. Never boring here.

I’ve decided to include a link to a short article of Noel Piper’s this week just because I think it’s so good. I believe your marriage and even your church could benefit if more of us had an attitude and a desire to honor the Lord in our relationships as Noel demonstrates in this piece. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Here’s a link directly to the article at DesiringGod.org. Please go read it for yourself.

Kevin A. Pierpont
Higgins Lake Baptist Church
7/11/04

Mike Yaconelli, in The Wittenburg Door shared this insight…

The problem with the church today is not corruption.  It is not institutionalism.  No, the problem is far more serious than something like the minister running away with the organist.  The problem is pettiness.  Blatant pettiness. (Mike Yaconelli in The Wittenburg Door (Dec./Jan. 1985).  Christianity Today, Vol. 31,  no. 15.)

—Read the Rest of the Entry…

A couple of weekends ago Kevin and Taylor, my two oldest boys, and I were preparing to take our canoe for a trial run on nearby Marl Lake. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. Cool but not cold, breezy and clear blue skies. We had not been out with this canoe before and we were trying to figure out how to get it lashed to the car safely. I bent down to tie the end of the canoe to a point under the rear bumper. When I got on my hands and knees and looked underneath I saw the right rear tire had a big patch of the steal belts showing on the inside edge. I was surprised and a bit disappointed.

Now I was going to have to get new tires and my better judgment told me we’d have to put off our outing for safety sake. Being a Saturday morning I didn’t think I’d get the tires I’d need that day. There was probably no place that had time on a Saturday to help me. But I was wrong. By noon I was back home, two new tires replaced the old and we were once again lashing the canoe on top of the car for our brief outing on the clear water of Marl Lake.

What was at first disappointment turned to gratitude for the Lord’s wisdom in putting me on my knees to look under the car to see the bad tire. The realization that He spared us a potentially serious problem crossed my mind. I doubt I would have seen that worn spot from any other angle. And I had just been driving the car on the interstate the day before and could have had a serious accident had the tire given out at highway speeds.

As we studied in Philippians 1:12-14 this past Sunday, I’m learning that there’s opportunity for joy in the midst of difficulty. Paul certainly modeled it. And my little problem may not be as serious as yours, but I’m reminded how we each need to see the opportunity to glorify God in all things. We may struggle for a time, we may experience pain, our hearts may be broken and we may mourn. But like Paul, when our singular passion in life is the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we’ll see our problems as opportunities to find joy in what God is doing through us instead of complaining about what’s happening to us.

Kevin A. Pierpont
Higgins Lake Baptist Church
7/4/04

In our study of Philippians we’ve been talking about how we can have true joy as followers of Jesus Christ. But when it comes to the times in our lives when we face troubles and trials how can we have joy then? How in the world are we to have joy in the midst of difficulty?

—Read the Rest of the Entry…