You are important to the health of Oak Crest.  One of our most important principles is that every member is a minister.  God has called you and equipped you for the work of ministry.  We should all be reminded that none of us are expendable.  Certainly the work of the Kingdom will continue with or without you or me, but the great blessing of being a part of the body of Christ is that God has allowed us to participate in the ongoing work of the gospel.  This work takes a number of forms, but all are important.  From teaching, to serving, to sharing one another’s burdens, all of it is part of God maturing us in Christ.  I don’t want you to ever feel you are not important in this process.  I never want to be guilty of taking you for granted in what God is doing at Oak Crest, and Oak Crest is just a small part of what God is doing all over the world.

My thoughts toward every single person at Oak Crest are the same thoughts Paul had about the believers at Philippi.  He said, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God,” Philippians 1: 9-11.  Notice Paul’s desire for the people.  He desired that they abound in love, but not just any love, not a shallow emotionalism.  He desired that they be filled with a love for one another grounded in knowledge or truth.  He wanted them to have a discerning love.  He wanted them to love and long for the things of God.  He desired them to have a love grounded in the truth of Jesus Christ.  He wanted them to have a love resulting in purity and blamelessness in Christ.  My prayer like Paul’s is that Oak Crest Baptist Church be a people filled with the righteousness of Christ Jesus.  Why should we pray for one another?  Why should we desire to see one another mature in the faith?  Why should we love in the truth of Christ?  Paul gives the supreme reason.  We do these things to the glory and praise of God!  We love each other to the glory of God.  We pray for each other to the glory of God.  I desire my growth and your growth to the glory of God.  May we love more and grow more and glorify God more in the days ahead.
         
In Christ,
Blain Craig

1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
   the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 2 Your throne is established from of old;
    you are from everlasting.
 3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
   the floods have lifted up their voice;
   the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
   mightier than the waves of the sea,
    the LORD on high is mighty!
 5 Your decrees are very trustworthy;
    holiness befits your house,
   O LORD, forevermore.
Psalm 93
         
          Take heart, our Lord reigns.  The most restless sea, the most violent earthquake, the most chaotic uprising, they are all subject to his strength.  Just think for a moment about what is bothering you today.  What is it that concerns you?  Are you in an economic crisis?  Are you in a family crisis?  Are you just having a bad day?  Whatever you are going through, no matter how difficult, it is fleeting in comparison to the eternal power and perfection and love and justice and mercy and grace of our God.  If God is mightier than the roaring flood or the crashing waves, he is greater than our temporary concerns.  Have faith in the sovereign of the universe.  I love the phrase, “your decrees are very trustworthy.”  Think about that.  All things that come to pass are within the counsel of the divine will.  For those who are in Christ all of those things that come to pass are ultimately for our good and God’s glory.  Therefore, we can trust that whatever God brings to us is for a reason.  Our God reigns supreme!  Absolutely nothing, not even death itself, can separate us from the wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus our lord.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragements over the last couple of weeks.  As many of you know, I am continuing to improve after an infection in my right arm.  I will continue to receive IV antibiotics at home for the next couple of weeks.  As always, you have proven your love through your encouraging notes and prayer support that has been so evident.  God is so good.  You have been more than patient with a lemon pastor.
I have been reminded, yet again, of the uncertainty of the events of life. The book of James reminds us that we should only make plans with the understanding that we will do this or that “if the Lord wills.”  That truth was brought home to me clearly in the last two weeks.  Loss of a loved one, diagnosis of long-term illness, major accidents – all these change our plans in an instant.  But here is the truly amazing thing to remember – each one of our lives is as uncertain as anyone else’s, we just don’t always realize it.  To the world around us, uncertainty is to be feared.  For those safely in Christ, there really is no such thing as uncertainty because what is uncertain to us is certain to an omniscient, omnipotent and sovereign God.  I have been reminded that even though not everything I plan comes to pass, what God plans always comes to pass.
          Secondly, I have been reminded of the value of covenant community.  I can’t imagine what people without church families do in difficult times.  The beauty of covenant community is that we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”  That is the truth Paul shared with the Corinthians, and it is true for us.  Almost every week someone in our church is going through what I experienced.  Right now, someone in our church is in the hospital, preparing for surgery, recovering from surgery, mourning a loved one, the list goes on and on.  We must not forget that because we must remind one another that our joy is not in our circumstances.  The love of brothers and sisters in Christ is a constant reminder that the kingdom of God is bigger than each of us individually.
          Finally, I have been humbled.  God is God, I am not.  Oh, that is not a truth I just learned, nevertheless I have been reminded of it.  Not that I would ever have said otherwise, but my life often preaches a different truth.  When we live life as if the world could not continue without us, we are puffed up with pride and our reflection of God’s glory is diminished.  I am not indispensable.  I am a vapor here for a little while.  God does not need me, but I am blessed that he uses me.   Here is the confidence in all of this.  Jesus will build his church – not me!  That is very humbling and very comforting and very liberating and very God glorifying.  Time is short – live the gospel.  “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil,” (Ephesians 5: 15-16).
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig