The Church at Decatur Heights

"Therefore, so I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, ...I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Therefore I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me. So because of Christ I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong" 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Now Paul does not tell us what this "thorn in the flesh" was but what he learned from it was that God's grace is ALWAYS sufficient and because of Christ even in weakness we are made strong. Jesus told His disciples that He was the vine and they were the branches and that apart from Him they could do nothing. John 15:5 Paul even understood this when he wrote "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13. Paul also wrote that being crucified in Christ it was no longer he who was living, but it was Christ living in Him and that life he was living was by faith in Christ who loved and gave himself for him. Galatians 2:20 Like Paul and the disciples we must have total surrender to Christ in everything. Like Paul learned to be pleased in his circumstances, we must learn to be pleased in ours especially now during this current "catastrophe" Remember Jesus said His grace was sufficient and strength was perfected in weakness. Now this does not mean we are to be "happy about what we are going through and throw a party" But realize that when we are weak we are strong because of Christ. Allowing Christ to live in us by the power of His Holy Spirit, is what sets us free "The Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom" 2 Corinthians 3:17. This freedom in Christ, enables us to serve our family, friends, and community with the love of Jesus and that my friends is exactly what a Christian is called to do. If you don't have this freedom and don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is a very simple process, or as easy as "ABC". Admit (realize) you are a sinner who is lost. Believe on the Lord Jesus and Confess your sins and ask God through Christ to forgive you and He will do it. There is not one person that God does not love and not one person He will not forgive and save to eternal life, but you MUST take that step. Jesus said "He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me, has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life" John 5:24 Be saved made righteous and be encouraged in the Lord today. To make HIM known. John

From my Pastor East Side Baptist Thomasville.

From a beautiful and talented family who bless our church at Eastside Baptist Thomasville

This is powerful and beautiful.

"Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen." Hebrews 11:1 "Faith has no place in this world" I just read this comment from so...meone just today on another facebook page. To be honest it made me very angry because as a Christian my faith in God is what sustains me on a daily sometimes hourly basis. This person's opinion was that because "science" can prove things and faith cannot then "faith has no place in this world" It also saddens me because as a Christian I know that if this person continues on this wide path to destruction they will die in their sins and find out just how real God is, in a very unpleasant way. Now to be fair they did not claim they were an "atheist" but had no problem mocking faith saying it was for the "intellectually lazy". Now that I have calmed down I have thought about a response as to why faith has every place in this world. 1) Faith is what brings groceries to your door when you are hungry and don't have the money to buy food. While science is figuring out what makes food grow. 2) Faith is what provides money for a light bill when you are just hours away from disconnection. While science is looking at how electricity works. 3) Faith is what brings family and friends to the hospital when a loved one is sick and dying and in faith they pray with you and cry with you and love you because it is their faith that teaches them to do this. While science is looking for clues as to their illness, God provides a miraculous healing because of faith and science scratches it's head in amazement. 4) Faith is what leads you to serve others in your community, science wonders why and sees no logic in such service. Now please don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with science, it has it's important place. It has led to many wonderful medical advancements discoveries and even cures. What would have killed us 100 years ago can now be cured in days with antibiotics. But faith has just as important a place. And like scripture says "Without faith it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6 Jesus often commended others for their faith and sometimes chastised those who lacked it. Faith is vital to our life and Jesus often made this very clear. To make Him known John.

Just a reminder that this page was created by me (John Davis) about 4 years ago while I lived in Decatur and was a member of the wonderful congregation at Decatur Heights. So all of the posts that you read that say "the church at Decatur Heights" are coming from me and may or may not always, (but hopefully) reflect the views of the Pastor Alan Smith or other members there. So if you have a question or a concern. I alone am responsible for what I post. please contact me either on my facebook page or my e mail [email protected] I am now living in Thomasville Ga but still love the church and keep up with the goings on there as best I can.

The Bible says that Job was a man of perfect integrity who feared God and turned away from evil. Job 1:1 Yet as we all know God allowed Satan to not only attack Job, but his family as well. Satan was certain that the only reason Job was faithful to God was because God was blessing him Job 1:9-11 Even in the midst of losing family and property, Job not one time sin or blame God, in fact he did the opposite, he gave praise to God. Job 1:21 Even when his wife came to him and to...Continue reading

In reference to Isaiah 26:20 "Go My people and enter your rooms and close your doors behind you. Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed" , I have s...een this one floating around like others that people are trying to attach to the current situation and have to say this is not biblically correct. In context Isaiah is prophesying a future event of God's wrath upon the earth. In verse 21 Isaiah says "For look the Lord is coming from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal the blood shed on it and will no longer conceal her slain" This verse has nothing to do with diseases or quarantine. It is speaking more toward the tribulation prophesied in Revelation. There is nothing wrong with sharing scripture I have been doing it myself but it is vital that we do so with the proper context as to not confuse non believers and give them some false idea about God that later circumstances seem to contradict. Please consider the verse you are sharing before you share it like this one please do some bible study on it before posting.

The "Deceitful heart" "The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick who can understand it? I the Lord examine the mind, I test the heart... to give to each according to his way according to what his actions deserve" Jeremiah 17:9-10 Now we read Jesus' words in Revelation 2:23 "Then all the churches will know that I am the One who examines minds and hearts and I will give to each of you according to your works" So in Jeremiah God says "I the Lord examine the mind I test the heart" and Jesus says almost the exact same thing in Revelation 2:23. So Jesus is claiming He will do something in Revelation that God said He does in Jeremiah. Conclusion..........Jesus is God.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9 I was reading an article y...esterday about Judas the one who betrayed Jesus and the question was did Judas have free will. My answer to that is a resounding YES we all have free will. We all can choose to accept or reject Jesus. It was while I was studying this that the Holy Spirit showed me something that I had never considered before. Judas' name meant "Son of perdition" or "Son of destruction" and I knew this because that is what scripture teaches, however, the part I had never considered was that before we come to Christ we are not only all sinners but we are all "Sons of destruction". Without Jesus we are all DOOMED to eternal torment, which is destruction. Jesus said "He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned" Mark 16:16. Sounds like destruction to me. The good news is that Jesus is our SAVIOR he is the way out of destruction. Judas chose to reject that lifeline, he chose not to believe despite being a disciple of Jesus and witnessing Jesus' miracles and sitting under his preaching and teaching. Judas had free will and so do we. We can choose to reject Jesus like Judas did or we can confess and believe. Romans 10:9 tells us "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved" We have free will we can go from being "Sons of perdition" to "Sons of God" it is entirely up to us. God will never reject those who call out to Him. "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Joel 2:32 "All who the Father gives me will come to Me and I will never drive away" John 6:37 To make Him known John.

Just a reminder that while the church building may be locked and the lights turned off, who we are in Christ has not been affected. Church does not start or end... when we physically enter or leave the building. For all Christians indwelt by the Holy Spirit, "Church" is 24-7-365. Jesus ministered to folks where they were. We are called in scripture to be "ambassadors" for Christ 2 Corinthian 5:20. During this time of uncertainty and what is happening, we must encourage each other and be a light in the world to show that the God we serve is a MIGHTY GOD who has everything in His control. Pray for our leaders, pray for our Pastors, pray for our friends and family and hold onto all of God's promises. "But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May You shelter them, and may those who love Your name boast about You." Psalm 5:11 "May the Lord bless and keep you may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you may the Lord turn His countenance toward you and give you peace" Numbers 6:24-26