Exmore Baptist Church

We have been so blessed on the Eastern Shore to have the weather we have had the last 6 weeks.  Not only were we spared from another hurricane, but we have also had gorgeous days with lots of sunshine and low humidity.  There have been many summer-like days to enjoy boating, a walk-through town or any other outdoor activity.  It won’t be long before it will soon change.  Once the time changes this coming weekend, the nights get longer, and people tend to stay more indoors.
  This thought goes through my mind - what will I do on Winter nights when there’s nowhere, I have to be?  The easy thing to do on cold nights is to stay in, watch TV and eat snacks (junk food).  After all, who is motivated to exercise and be disciplined on a winter’s night?
  I am publicly committing myself and challenging all of you to use our time in a more productive and spiritually effective way.  I have a few books I want to read. For those of you who are not readers, there is some great preaching on YouTube.  Check out David Platt, David Jeremiah, Francis Chan, Gary Hamrick, or Pastor Daniel Lucas from Kentucky.
  I can also use that time to reach out to some family members and friends that I have lost contact with.  Perhaps you have some relationships that need to be strengthened.  Visit a friend or meet someone for dinner that needs Christian fellowship.
  Perhaps there is a ministry in the church that needs your involvement.  Pray that the Lord will guide you to an area where He has gifted you to serve.  Paul told Timothy to “stir up the gift that is within you…” (2 Timothy 1:6) Spiritual inactivity will eventually lead to grumbling, discontentment and temptation.  Staying busy in the service of the Lord brings joy.  “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:17)
  Take the challenge this winter and use your time for God’s Kingdom purposes!
~Pastor Carpenter