About The Jenkins County times. (Millen, Ga.) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2023)
jenkinscountytimes.com The Jenkins County Times Wednesday, September 27, 2023 - Page 3 Pastor Bill Kent, Memorial Baptist Church Sylvania, GA Spiritual Signposts Words of Encouragement By Joshua Johnson, Special Contributor for The Times Pastor Oak Hill Baptist Church, Millen “77ft? God Who Shuts the Lion ’s Mouth ” 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary> the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking - “Be sober - 1 Peter 5:8someone to devour. ’’ Do you remember the bible story, Daniel, and the lion’s den? Daniel was a godly man living in an ungodly culture, a Jew living in forced exile in Babylon. Daniel was one of the chief advisors of King Darius and because he was a godly man, he was hated and targeted by his peers who were jealous of his authority and favor with the king. Daniel’s peers set him up to fail, and to be executed by the decree of the king, by flattering the king into passing a law that permitted only worship and adulation of the king for a few days. They came up with this wicked plan because Daniel had proved himself to be a man of prayer, even publicly opening his windows on the second floor of his house to pray towards Jerusalem. When the king passed the law, Daniel didn’t stop praying, he continued to pray as he always had and was caught and sentenced to death. His execution would be carried out by the king of the animal kingdom - starved lions. Daniel was to be thrown into the lion’s den overnight, and the starving lions were supposed to attack and eat him alive. The king spent a night in terrible agony, waiting for daybreak to check if Daniel was still alive. When he arrived at the lion’s den and called out for Daniel, Daniel 6:22 tells us Daniel’s reply to the king about how his night in the lion’s den passed - “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” “My God.. .shut the lion’s mouths.” Daniel testified to the power of God in shutting the mouth of the lions and saving him in a miraculous show of power. Although we may not ever be in the presence of hungry lions and see God shut their mouths, God hasn’t changed, and He still has the power to shut the mouth of the deadliest lion you and I will ever face - our enemy Satan. 1 Peter 5:8 minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls -“Be sobersays, o devour Satan is compared to a ravenous lion, looking taround like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” speaks of him, our enemy, “who has come to steal, kill, and John 10:1 OChristians. How does Satan devour? shows us in the temptation 11 -Matthew 4: Isays that he is “the accuser of the brethren.” Revelation 12:10destroy.” Jesus says that Satan has been a John 8:44temptations that attack God’s word. In of Jesus, Satan’s subtle he speaks out of his own character, because he is the lies,murderer and a liar from the beginning, and “when he father of lies.” Satan steals, kills, and destroys and he will lie, cheat, and accuse to do it. The greater our desire to know Jesus and make Him known, the greater Satan applies his pressure. Christians can be heavily influenced by accusation, lies, and temptation in their daily walk. What do we do? “Be sober-minded” - understand that our enemy is real, has real power, and can steal, kill, and destroy. “Be watchful” - Be watchful in wisdom, stepping wisely in our daily paths, letting God’s Word be a lamp to our path and a light to our feet. Be watchful in prayer, understanding that Satan has been defeated at the cross, his days are numbered, and any power he has now been granted to him by God - he is like a dog on a leash. Be watchful in prayer understanding that God still has the power to shut the lion’s mouth and asking God to do it! God has the power to shut the mouth of our enemy, who prowls around like a ravenous lion, seeking someone to devour. ' EXCITING WORSHIP " Oak Hill Baptist Church 3233 Oak Hill Church Rd, Millen, GA 30442 Down load Oak Hill Chu rch APR "Today! Welcome to East Burke Baptist Church Sunday Services 11 a.m. Pastor: Jordan Clayton Hwy 24 Sardis, GA Please call 706-526-1733 for more information. Green Fork Baptist Church Pastor Jesse Sadler (Phone Number: 850-843-6102) Worship Opportunities: Sunday Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. Evening Worship 5:30 p.m. Children's Choir 5:30 p.m. Wednesday Bible Study/Prayer Mtg 7:00 p.m. Millen Baptist Church Come join us!! Morning Worship 11AM Sunday School 9:45 a.m. 219 N. Gray St, Millen, GA 478-982-5411 Pastor Brad Asbury pastorbradasbury@gmail. c om Millen Methodist Church Morning Worship 11AM Sunday School 10 a.m. 413 N. Gray St, Millen, GA 478-982-2664 Pastor John Drake For questions about our services, please email us @ millenmethodistchurch@gmail.com Oak Hill Baptist Church Sunday School: 9 a.m. Sunday Morning: 10 a.m. Wednesday: 7 p.m. Choir practice - Bible Study Youth Group - Kids Mission Group 3233 Oak Hill Church Rd., Millen, GA Pastor: Joshua Johnson 478-982-1616 www.oakhillmillen.com Scarboro Baptist Church 4204 Scarboro Church Loop Millen, GA 30442 706-466-4494 Pastor: Perry Hearn Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. Due to the fire, this will be our service time until further notice. Trinity Episcopal Church 4401 Country Club Rd, Statesboro, GA Sunday Eucharist 8:15 a.m. and 10:30a.m. Father Charles Todd, Rector Jonathan Murphy, Music Director. 912-489-4208 www.facebook.com/TrinityEpiscopalStatesboro •< r I LI PC r 1 J 3 MTS What's going on in your church? Homecoming? Celebrations? New Pastor? email us or call us at: thejenkinscountytimes(o)gmail.com 478-451-5007 Help visitors find you! List your church in the directory for six months $60 or one year $120 Call: (912) 451-NEWS or 478-401-5007 T-Th-F Do you need to add, remove, or change any information of your listing in the church directory? Give us a call or email me at: deb.jctimes@gmail.com Road signs give us directions when we travel streets and highways near our homes as well as in faraway places. It's important to be awake and alert to stay alive when we drive. In a similar way, we need to pay attention to spiritual billboards that direct our way to Heaven and instruct us on the best way to live in the meantime. When we hurry or are distracted, we are more likely to have accidents on the road. If we ignore stop signs, we probably regret it. It is a dangerous gamble to ignore proper warnings. When we see theblue lights in our rearview mirror, it is not convenient but it’s necessary. In fact, the blue lights might slow us down enough to save our life even though it may cost us some money. If someone confronts us about our wrongdoing, it's not helpful to get angry. We should admit what we did and leam to do better. Though David was a sinner, he dealt properly with his sin. Therefore, he found forgiveness from the Lord. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise," (Psalm 51:17). Many tragedies are prevented when people look and listen. When we approach a railroad crossing, it's good to open our windows and look left and right before going across the track. If we try to beat a train, we will probably lose and many people are sad for years after such a collision. As we should think clearly when driving, we need to get our hearts right daily in order to make good decisions. "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life," (Proverbs 4:23). God doesn't want us to be careless or reckless. Though the Lord rescues us many times after we make bad decisions and sin, it's so much better when we listen to the Lord the first time and do what we should. We need wisdom to live a happy life. When Thomas wondered about how to live, Jesus showed him by his example and his words. "Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life...' " (John 14:5-6). 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