HOLINESS IS OFTEN SEEN AS SOMETHING OTHER-WORLDLY, and whereas a thing that is considered “holy” is “set apart for a specific, non-secular task, there is a part of holiness that is down-to-earth.
This week a group of 13 (kind of like Jesus and the disciples, eh?) of this church family are serving the Lord in some very down-to-earth ways. We are going to serve the Lord while we seek to serve others in the greater New Orleans area. We have set our hearts and minds on the task of learning the practical side of holiness, the part exhibited by our Lord when He willingly left the glories of heaven, and became like us, in order to serve and suffer on our behalf. Ultimately, dying upon the cross so that our sins would be paid for and our lives freed to live as God had intended.
We talk often here at Felton Bible Church about going outside the walls of the church in order to express the love of God to our community. It is our prayer that this trip to serve others in a “far away” place will help to ignite our hearts to serve right here at home. We don’t know all that God has in store for us, but we are desirous to serve wherever and however we are needed. And in this we need your ongoing support.
Thank you- to those of you have already been praying for and with us, and to those who have also given sacrificially so that we could make this journey. We continue to covet your prayers as we travel and as we serve. Thank you. If you desire to keep up with our daily adventures, struggles, and victories you can check out our daily on-line journal at: http://fbckatrina.blogspot.com.
Taking God’s holiness to the streets.

THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL has a new advertising plan to help us remember the importance of buckling up those seatbelts. It’s a visual reminder that if they catch you not wearing your seatbelt, they will ticket you!
As a kid I was brought up riding in cars with no seatbelts, and with metal dashboards and non-breakaway steering wheels. No airbags or crumple zones in those babies, just lots of heavy metal and huge chrome bumpers. So, when they starting installing seatbelts in our cars we were all pretty reticent to use them. What a nuisance and inconvenience they seemed to be. Heck, who cares if they were there to save lives, we made it just fine without them thus far, so unbuckled they remained.
But, that fact was they would save lives if we used them. And as cars changed (got smaller and made out of plastic and lesser gauge metal) they came to be more and more important in the saving of lives. Today, if I see a person not using it (or a child unrestrained in a child‘s car seat) I think they are being incredibly foolish with their lives, not to mention breaking the law.
The laws that God gave the children of Israel, that are detailed in such portions of Scripture such as Leviticus, are much like seatbelts, they are there for our protection. But much like my early response to wearing them, most of us see them as hinderances to our freedom and or at least great inconveniences. But, in reality they are there to keep us from greater harm. They can keep us safe from dangers that we have yet to see as we travel this journey called life. And in many ways they can help us arrive in one piece at our intended destination.
So, I say it’s time to buckle-up for safety. It sure beats a ticket…or worse!

WHERE ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE GOING? It was three o’clock in the morning and I was traveling down the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles and the road was packed with cars. No accident. No traffic construction. No storm-related sow down, just lots of people out heading somewhere or another. In reality, it’s not an uncommon occurrence on the freeways of southern California. There’s just no stopping the action down there.
As I drove along with the other fellow travelers I really did ask myself, “why are all these people out here?” I knew why I was out there, and believe me it was not my normal commute time, but shouldn’t all these other people be in bed? There’s just no stopping us. There is always another place to be, another job to get done, another appointment to meet. There’s just no stopping us.
I don’t believe this is what God had in mind for us. But maybe he did know what we would “evolve” to if left to our own devices, and thus the creation of the Sabbath. God knew we would go 24/7/365. There’s just no stopping us. But we need to stop. We need to rest. We need to be reminded that we can’t do it all, nor should we.
God created the Sabbath for us, because we need it. God created the Sabbath, and thus it is good, and good for us. To not take the good that God offers is both foolish and sinful. Foolish because without the rest we will work ourselves into the ground (that’s called the grave in Scripture) and it is sinful because it really shows a lack of trust in God wisdom and God’s provision.
I don’t know what your reasons are for rushing down the freeway of life 24/7, I sure know what mine are, but I do know that we need to stop, for in stopping we learn to trust and obey, and truly, there’s no other way.
So, what’s stopping you now?

GROWING UP I WAS BLESSED to have two tables where the family gathered to eat our meals. One was located adjacent to our kitchen, the other was located in the next room and was set aside for special meals. Those special meals consisted of holidays, or other special gatherings of family and friends.
It was much larger than the table in the kitchen, it had room for more than just the regular family, and there seemed to always be room for one more. The plates and utensils for that table were special as well. China dishes, crystal goblets, sterling silver, linen napkins, and of course mom’s special lace table cloth. It was truly a special table, for special times and held many special memories.
In our church family we have a different tables as well. We have tables for eating, for meeting, for playing and we have a Table for special gatherings. It is a Table where we gather in fellowship as we celebrate the Meal that brings us all together. It is the Table that reminds us of the very One who makes the Meal and the fellowship of the family possible. It is truly a very special Table.
Today we dedicate a new Table. A Table not bought in a store or through a catalog, but lovingly made through the hands of craftsmen in our family for God’s glory. A Table that tells a story of God’s love for His family. A Table that will constantly, for future generations, call us to gather to celebrate and remember.
May God richly bless this Table, the hands which have formed it, the hands which prepare and serve the Meal, and all who come to partake of the Bread and the Cup. May we all hold this Table as special among all others.