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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
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Give us a call or email me at:
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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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(478)982-2390
537 East Winthrope Ave.
Millen, Georgia 30442
