TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD

Greetings Saints,
How good it is when the people of God worship and fellowship with each other. Since my last posting Rev. "D" and I have been blessed to spend time with family and friends in Pittsburgh and Charlottesville. This past week in Charlottesville, we had a great time of sharing at TMFBC. Three were baptised and several came to Christ and/or joined the church. It was good to see that the ministry is going well under good, devoted leadership. The formal CD release of "Now Is Our Time," my first music CD, was also a great time of fellowship and sharing. I'm excited about the response to this project in Pittsburgh and Virginia. Now it appears that interest is growing in other places. You can now purchase a copy at http://www.drbabeard.com/. You can also get them at the Macedonia Bookstore in Pittsburgh, and soon at Plan 9 music stores in Virginia and North Carolina. As other outlets are certain I will let you know. Pray that our God is pleased and glorified in this and that its hearers will enjoy it. That has been my primary goal.
There is nothing as good as fellowship with God and with God's people. Jesus put it this way: ".....love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as your self." All of the commandments and the heart of our Lord's intention for mankind can be summed up in these few words. The devotees of God should never be satisfied with anything less. How do we know when we are in the will of God? Well, there may be a number of ways but certainly how we are living up to these two basic commands speaks volumes about our relationship with God. Since Christ has declared these to be basic to our faith we must seek their fulfillment in every area of our lives. It does not mean that there will always be agreement on every issue, but no matter what, our love for God and each other must always prevail. How is your prayer life? How often are you speaking and submitting to God in prayer? How many of your life decisions or ministry and job decisions are made only after spending time with God and submitting to His answers. How much time is spent studying God's written word, the Bible? How often do you pray for others rather than for yourself, including those who don't care for you? These are indicators of our commitment to God and each other. How generous are you with your time and resources for the benefit of others? God loves a cheerful and generous giver. Our faith is not the completion of duties but rather a hunger for God, love for God and love for all humanity. It is being able to feel the hurts of others and seek to help show them a way out. It is rejoicing in the blessings and success of others and not jealous of them. It is loving the lost so much that you desire to do all you can to lead them to salvation in Christ Jesus. Our love for God and others is demonstrated in our asking what more we can do to bless others. We will never go wrong by seeking to do more rather than less. God will bless the open hand, not the closed fist, because the open hand is the nature of God.
Well, the time has come for the first service of Transformation Ministries International of Atlanta. Sunday September 7 at 11:00am will begin the ministry here. The goal of the ministry in brief is to love God and love our neighbor. Pray for the success of the ministry as the Lord may define its success. Pray for the resources of people, spiritual gifts and talents, financing, administration and tools to carry out this work, all in abundance. No ministry should be limited in its ability to minister because of lack. The spirit of lack can only get a hold of us if we are not moving forward in the will, work and word of God.
Remember that we love you and are praying for you all no matter where you may be in the world. May the joy of the Lord be yours.