By Ben Beck | Published:
November 23, 2009
It’s been four years since “Hurricane Katrina” hit the southern Gulf coast, you would think that things would be back to normal but for some they are not. This was my first time to go on a mission trip to help those in the New Orleans area after Katrina. My thoughts when all of the disaster happened is that it was absurd to have a city that was built under sea level and that this was a perfect opportunity to get rid of the city. As always God breaks our hearts when we get involved with those who were affected. I can say that I do not see it that way anymore. Katrina was one of the worst disasters in American history and yet there are disasters wherever you live. I have lived in the Midwest/Southwest and have always dealt with tornados. I never thought I should pick up and leave because it could destroy my life but yet I thought those who went through Katrina would just pick up and leave. This is their home and they have a love and a draw to that region just like I have to the Midwest.
I went on this trip with 20 other people. We had 17 from Calvary Baptist Church in West Lafayette, 1 father of a member of Calvary, and 3 men from First Baptist Church Pocatello, Idaho. This was the 8th trip since Katrina for Calvary Baptist Church. I had always wanted to go but it never worked out in my schedule. We worked with the mission’s lab at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) for this project.
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By Ben Beck | Published:
September 25, 2009
It seems like the beginning of the semester is always a whirlwind and I have to say that this is my first blog of the semester. It seems like the busier we are the harder it is to find time for God and that includes me. I have been busy with ministry but have not slowed down to absorb God.
I have been in a small group at church that is going over James and I just wanted to share something that God is showing me through that. In James 1 it talks about trials and how we are to deal with them. James 1:2 says to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” Joy must come from God and we must rely on Him to experience joy through trails. I believe that we as Americans confuse Joy and happiness. We are unable to have Joy without having Jesus Christ in our lives. The scripture goes on to says WHEN you encounter various trials, not IF. That means everyone will go through trials so don’t think you are the only one going through trials. It also says we will encounter VARIOUS trials. Each one of us live unique lives and so the trials are not all going to be the same but there is usually someone else that has gone through a similar trial. We must help others as they go through trials. Romans 12:15 says to rejoice with those rejoicing and weep with those who are weeping. We are to be there for each other through everything.
In James 1:12 it talks about how we are blessed when we persevere under trial. That means that we are not crushed under the pressure but grow from the trial. Trials are for us to grow stronger but many times we give into our own desires instead of God’s will. Trials can become temptation and temptation leads to sin but God is not evil according to James 1:13 and that He does not tempt us or lead us to sin. He has allowed trials for us to endure and become stronger but temptation and sin is our own evil desires. In James 1:17 it gives us a look at God’s Character. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” God is perfect and good and is the Father of light. Where there is darkness that light is absent. God has not varied and has not shifted from the beginning of time. What an incredible God we serve.
This has been an encouragement for me in that we will have trials and God wants us to grow stronger from them. He desires us to not give into our own selfishness but we must be seeking God’s direction for our every move. I pray that as you see the scripture and look at what God is doing in your life, that you look for the good things and the trials as a positive. When we fail it’s not because of God but he will lift us up and help us start again..
It seems just like yesterday Nettie and I said “I DO”. We were so young, she was 21 and I was 22 yet we were so in love. After 14 years I have figured out that you can not only be “in love” but that you have to continually work to love each other unconditionally.
We had a great wedding at an odd time like 2:35 or something like that because we just wanted break traditions. We also had pictures before the wedding but I loved that I went to the front and her father walked her down the isle for the pictures so we could see each other then take the pictures. Our campus minister Mike Trent performed the wedding and one of the neat things Mike does is that he had us up on the stage facing the crowd and he was down at the bottom looking up to us. He said this day is about you, not me and I want them to be able to see you. One of my pet peeves is that people have a ring bearer and they put fake rings on the pillow so guess what we put on the pillow, the real wedding rings. The ring bearer was my 3 year old neighbor but all he had to do is walk down the isle with the rings. When the best man pulled the rings off the pillow he handed the wrong one to the maid of honor. When they went to pass them back they dropped Nettie’s wedding ring and it came very close to going in the air vent but the flower girl reached down and picked it up. The rest of the wedding went fine and it was actually very short. I believe that we were leaving the church after the reception after a little over an hour from the start time of the wedding.
We have lived in Kansas, Texas, and now Indiana through the last 14 years. Nettie has been so supportive of the ministry and a major part of it and I know that I could not do it without her. We enjoyed the first 6 years without kids, just getting to know each other. We have enjoyed the next 8 with kids and have enjoyed transitioning as they have grown and got involved in many things. We have also had our cat Tuff around all 14 years but just over the past few years I have become allergic to him, if I pet him I break out and get itchy eyes. That stinks because I enjoy petting and holding that big cat.
To close I just want to share a few things I have learned the past 14 years of Marriage. Read More »
Well, this is my first blog and as I read the article that Josh cited yesterday I was convicted that I needed to challenge myself in this area. I am not sure to thank Josh or be upset that he posted it.
I was reading Hebrews 13 today, WOW! There is so much to get out of this one chapter. The first thing that was challenging was talking about having brotherly love and being hospitable. I know that I have not been as hospitable or loving as I should be to others. It talks about some have been so hospitable that they have hosted Angels. That is what I want to strive to do, not out of selfishness but out of brotherly love.
Verse 5 says “Be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.” This is a great point in this time of the financial crisis this country is facing. We have been living like we had nothing and wanted more but we have more than any other people group in the world. I heard a statistic that even if you are making minimum wage here in the states you are make more than 80% of the world. We have so much and yet we continue to long for the wrong things. I need to be satisfied because I have Christ and Christ alone.
I have so much more to say but I will just mention one more important point out of that chapter 13 and that comes from verse 9. “Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings” we must continually seek His Word so that we can know the truth. I love the analogy of the counterfeit money detectors. They are trained with the real money so that when shown a counterfeit it is obviously not the real deal and the same way we need to study God’s Word not other teachings. It is not just to know it for knowledge sake but also to be applying it in my life.
As I have done this and written out what I have thought it helps me to understand the scripture better and hopefully apply it more to my life. I look forward to bloging more and hope that if you have read this you have enjoyed it also. My prayer is that I will continue to grow closer to God while growing closer to others.
Hi! For the 2009-2010 school year, we’re implementing something new—blogs! The idea behind using blogs is to encourage BCM members to write down their thoughts on what they’re studying, and to promote interaction between members as they discuss each other’s thoughts and new learnings. Abraham Piper wrote a good piece on why pastors should blog, but why should the benefits he lists be limited just to pastors?
If you’re not logged in to our site, you won’t see much in terms of blog entries. Users can log in by clicking the link at the bottom of the page. After you log in, you’ll be able to see more entries.
