God, Our Rescuer

A Knight in

Shining Armor

Who doesn’t love a good story of rescue and redemption?  Happily-ever-afters are the best.  We long for them, don’t we? Too often our real-life story is filled with lots of missteps, mistakes and missed opportunities.  Often, we find ourselves a long way from a picture-perfect finish.  We are flawed, sinful people and we live in a world broken by sin with other flawed and sinful people.  That means lots of messy, problem filled lives.  How can we possibly make it thru? 



Many folks do a lot of pretending.  Pretending they are perfect.  “Everything is fine.  No problems in my life…my family…my marriage.”   Sounds great, but not a pain free way to live because all that pretend perfection is exhausting and pretty hard to keep up.  Sooner or later, that house of cards will fall, no matter how good you are at balancing.  Humans just are not perfect and pretend perfection is not satisfying.



Some people try to go thru the mess of life by numbing themselves with drugs, alcohol, excessive shopping, sex, destructive relationships or a host of other distractions, trying everything in an attempt to get some peace or relief. Most of us do a combination.  We vacillate between pretending we are living perfect, pain-free lives or we cave to the pressures of life and seek solace in the world’s bandaids.  None will ever lead to a happily ever after.  All you get is bigger problems on top of the problems you are trying to escape. Neither option is a real solution. 



The only solution is a real relationship with God; a genuine, honest relationship with the one who knows everything about you and loves you anyway.  God, who loves messy, flawed, sinful humans so much He died for us.  God doesn’t want a bunch of pretenders. Instead, He wants us to be willing to share our insufficiency with the world so He can be our sufficiency.  When we are honest about our need for Him, He shows himself faithful to us in every way.  A world full of hurting pretenders needs to see the real you: warts, scars and all with Jesus shining in and thru you, despite your imperfections and problems.  When we pretend and hide, we show our lack of faith in Him. 



We need to accept who we are in Christ.  He made us.  He defines who we are.  When we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives, we become part of God’s family.  We are daughters and sons of the Almighty God.  We aren’t perfect but He accepts us and loves us despite our flaws because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.  We need to believe what God says about us and be brave enough to show the world our real selves so we can share the love of Jesus with a world full of flawed people who need to know Him too. We need to accept that our identity comes from God and He really does love us.  That’s how we get a happy ending that’s really a happy beginning. 



From: Follow the Cloud by John Stickl:



In Jesus:

·         You are already loved—which means you have nothing to fear.

·         You are already forgiven—which means you have no debt to pay.

·         You are already his masterpiece—which means you are valuable.

·         You are already free—which means nothing can hold you back.

·         You are already accepted—which means you have nothing to prove.

·         You are already his beloved son or daughter—which means you are alive!

The roar from heaven says, “You’re mine.  You belong to me. And only I get to say who you are.”

Mighty warrior, it’s time to become who you already are.





Karen Long-Moore, Senior Leader

CBS Rutherfordton Day Class



Originally Presented to the Leadership 9/18/19

News from Community Bible Study

More men, women and children are studying the Bible

 in Rutherford County, NC.

The 2019 - 2020 Community Bible Study Day Class started off with a bang on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 

with 200 women (and men in the Agape Class) and 57 children.

 Our study this year is called:

"From the Red Sea to the Jordan River"

and moves us through Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

There is room for more people so invite your friends to join us. They can find a registration form to print out and complete by clicking the Registration Tab on this blog and then bringing it with them to class, or mailing it, along with $35.00, to Pam Hutchins, 207 Squirrel Den Rd, Rutherfordton, NC  28139.

-- OR --

Click here: communitybiblestudy.org and register online.

2019-2020 Rutherfordton Day Class 

Servants Team

News from Community Bible Study

Great News! 

Community Bible Study is growing!

More women in Rutherford County are studying the Word.

Now is the time to register for the 2018 – 2019 Class so the Leadership Team has time to provide Core Leaders and Children’s Leaders. We will be studying the Book of Acts.

Registration Forms are available on the Registration Forms tab of this blog. Click on the one you need (Adult or Children) and print it out. Fill in the information and mail the form and your $35.00 registration fee to:

Pam Hutchins

207 Squirrel Den Rd.

Rutherfordton, NC  28139

Children’s Forms may be handled the same way; however, The Children/Youth Coordinator will determine if there is room in the class for your child. The registration fee for children is $10.00.

See you on September 12, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. 

at Second Baptist Church,

191 Green Street, Rutherfordton, NC 

Do What God Tells You to Do

A few months ago, I visited the replica of Noah’s Ark The Ark was the length of one and a half football fields. The internal volume of the Ark was the equivalent of 569 train boxcars. Walking the Ark, from top and bottom, is like walking a football field nine times.

It took an incredible amount of faith to build the Ark. Who builds a boat in the desert? Who hammers away for 120 years on something they may never need? Who banks their entire future on something that has never happened before? Noah’s act of obedience literally changed the world. And obedience will change our world, too.  

DO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU TO DO

Noah built the Ark because God commanded it. Day after day, he hammered and sawed as his act of obedience. With each daily act of obedience, he glorified God. The Bible tells us, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

DO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU TO DO

Noah did everything just as God commanded him. He walked with God, a step-by-step process. We are afraid of doing what we have never done because it’s unfamiliar territory. So, we leave the new

2 Corinthians 5:7

gifts unclaimed, the new authority, new anointing, and new dreams and visions God wants to give us. We want a money-back guarantee before we take a leap of faith, but that eliminates faith from the equation. We are called to “walk by faith and not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7

“What is the favor of God?” It’s God doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. It opens doors of opportunity. It turns opposition into support. The Bible says, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52

Instead of being content with the level of favor you enjoy today, ask God for an increase. How do we find favor? Obedience! It begins by surrendering your life to Christ. “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

Favor s not limited to the spiritual realm. In Noah’s life, God’s favor translated into ingenious inventions. It doesn’t matter what you do, God wants to help you do it well. He will bless you beyond your ability and your resources.  As long as you need man’s approval, God is limited in what He can do through you. Faith is the willingness to look foolish. That’s why faith and humility go hand in hand.

Noah looked foolish building an Ark on dry land.

Sarah looked foolish believing she would conceive a baby at ninety years of age.

David and Goliath

Moses looked foolish asking Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.

David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot.

The results speak for themselves. Noah stayed afloat during the flood. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Moses delivered Israel out of Egypt. David defeated Goliath. Faith is acting as if God has already answered our prayers, even if it takes 120 years.

Success is not just about getting where God wants you to go, it’s about who you become in the process.

DO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU TO DO

Victoria Logan

Originally presented to the Leadership Council

11/8/17

CBS – Rutherfordton Day Class

Words and Water

A Refreshing Glass

of Ice Water

What a difference our words can make, for good or for bad, and that led me to think about how water can be an analogy to words. Words can be, like water, either a blessing or a curse. When you are hot, tired and thirsty, a cool glass of water can truly be a blessing that cools and refreshes. It’s essential to life and it can be harnessed for work to provide power for operating grist mills and hydroelectric power plants.

Too much water, too fast, can be destructive and contaminated water, deadly. We are in the middle of this historically bad Atlantic hurricane season and have seen hurricanes named Harvey, Irma and Maria. They have brought death, sorrow, destruction, and despair to many people. The storm surge is often as dangerous as the wind and pressure canges.

Like water, our words can be harnessed for good or they can be a

destructive force. A friend recently told me how a meaningful friendship had been torn apart with words. That relationship looks to be permanently broken. I could hear the heartache in my friend’s voice as she shared her pain.

This week’s Bible study is titled, “Warning and Judgement.”* Scripture is a resource God provides to warn us of various spiritual dangers and avoid common pitfalls. Like a good parent, God tries to prepare us ahead of time for what we can expect in life.

A warning verse from James 1:26 (ESV) says,

“those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”

Later in James 3:10 (NIV) we’re warned,

“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”

I expect that we have all said things we shouldn’t and been convicted to seek repentance and forgiveness.

Our words reveal our inner selves, even when we don’t mean for them to. Jesus speaks in Matthew 12:34b (NIV),

“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

This is why we are encouraged to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, anything that is excellent or praiseworthy. When we choose to focus on growing closer to God and making his priorities our own, our attitudes and words will show it.

We have been talking about regular spoken words, regular language…but John1:1 (NIV) tells us, somewhat cryptically,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Here, he’s talking about Jesus. Jesus as the Word, who was also God, and who spoke creation into existence. Now that’s a powerful word! We can begin to see that as we are being transformed by scripture and the Holy Spirit at work in us, we can tap into that power. When we invite others to Bible study, or share words of the Gospel message, or we uplift and encourage others, when we speak words of confession and repentance, when we ask God to help us deal with our anger and selfishness in ways that are pleasing to Him, then we are using our words in ways that are a blessing to us and that bring glory to God.

May it be so in each of our lives this week.

Camille Wheeler

Originally presented to Leadership Council

9/27/17

CBS - Rutherfordton Day Class

* Return to Jerusalem, Lesson 3

Our Godly Character

Flight to Los Angeles

This summer, Mary Jane Downs and I, and three others, went on a mission trip to Los Angeles to do street evangelism, prayer walking and praying for the entertainment industry. We’d had a fruitful week and felt like we accomplished everything we understood we were supposed to, and more.

On Friday night we returned to the hotel after a long day and just as we were pulling into the parking lot, we received a text from the airline saying our flight for the next morning had been cancelled. We all went to our rooms to pack and get ready to leave the next day just as we had planned to do.

During the night, Sam our team leader, texted back and forth with the airline to no avail. The flight was back on, then off again, delayed 20 minutes, back on time, delayed 30 minutes. That was how it stood as we woke up that morning.

Woman Asleep

As I was spending some time in prayer before I got up to dress, the Lord told me, “This is your opportunity to show your Godly character.” I laid there and thought about that for a few minutes. What did I have within me that could be considered Godly character? Then He brought to mind, Gal. 5:22-23, the Fruit of the Spirit.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

               gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

I shared this challenge with the other team members.

Waiting in the Airport

By the time we arrived at the airport the flight had changed again. It was back on regular time, then cancelled again and then on again, but without us. Sam talked to three different airline employees, going higher up the chain of command each time, while the rest of us sat across the lobby praying. The spiritual warfare was intense. He finally came away with two choices: leave on the same flight the next day (but they wouldn’t help us find a hotel to stay in or help get us there and back or pay for the extra meals we’d need. Option two was to stay in the airport and leave on a flight that night, changing in Chicago instead of Denver. Twelve hours in the airport is a long time but we got the distinct feeling that God was keeping us from harm.

Something like this doesn’t happen every day, but other things happen that might test our Godly character. Many times since then I have heard that wee small voice reminding me “this is an opportunity to show your Godly character.”

The Israelites had many opportunities to show their Godly character in our study this

The Temple Destroyed

week. They often failed. How about you?  Has He given you those opportunities, too? How are you doing with that challenge?

There are some of God’s character traits that we cannot, as humans, show. His omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence and His position in the Trinity. Being sovereign, immutable and rendering judgement are reserved for Him. But He has allowed us to take on other character traits to make us better people and make the world a better place.

I am closing with Galatians 5:22-24 from The Message.

^22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

^23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

Cathy Biggerstaff

Originally Presented to the Leaders Council

CBS – Rutherfordton Day Class

10/4/17

Amazing God

Mt. Rainier

As many of you know, I was born and raised in the state of Washington. I grew up in the city of Port Orchard, across Puget Sound from Seattle. Even prettier than the Puget Sound, are the mountain ranges that surround the state. Mt. Baker, Mt. Adams, Mt Hood, (which is in Oregon but can be seen from Washington and is in the same Cascade Range), and Mt. Rainier, my favorite mountain. Many Washingtonians still call it, "Mr. Majestic."

Today, I would like to tell you about a mountain that changed all our lives: Mount St. Helen's, when she blew her top! There was lots of fear about the unknown future, and fifty-seven precious lives were lost. So powerful was the force of unwanted, sulfurous ash, that it circled the globe twice!  That experience is something our family will never forget. 

Mount St. Helens

 Life for our family was full of unexpected events as well, some positive and others negative. A positive experience for me, was accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Savior on April 30th,1 972.  In these 45 years, we have experienced marriages, divorces, loss of a son, wayward children and grandchildren, financial ups and downs and health issues.  Yet through it all, God has been faithful.  I can still say, "Amazing God, you're still amazing me."

Starting in Community Bible Study five years ago, I have learned many things:

1)    It is very easy to just drift along if you are not solidly anchored in God.

2)    Another year I learned you can fall into complacency, and not even realize it.

3)    Last year I adopted the word "balance" for I realized I didn’t have that in my life. 

I can't wait to see what God shows me as I study Return to Jerusalem this year.

This past summer, my husband Bill and I revisited Mt. Rainier and Mount St. Helen's. What a sight to behold!  The verses in Psalms 121: 1 & 2, are so fitting:

"I lift my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the Lord, the Creator of Heaven and Earth."

Take a minute to listen to the Triumphant Quartet's song, "Amazing God” on You Tube to round out this devotion.

Linda McDaniel

This devotion originally presented to Leaders Council

Community Bible Study – Rutherfordton Day Class

10/11/17