Pastor Jacki Dvorak
Providence Baptist Church
(2/1) Many consider New Year’s Resolutions each year about this time: We make promises to eat healthier, exercise, stop this or that, etc. All great ideas, and we tend to be highly motivated on January 1st, but where are we on February 1st? Still motivated, or fizzling down? I saw a funny meme recently that said, "I used to just ‘Crastinate,’ but then I got really good at it and I went Pro!"
Let’s face facts, many of us are Pro-crastinators! What does the Bible teach us about that? Here’s a few verses to consider: Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." I Corinthians 14:40 "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." and most important, II Corinthians 6:2b "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Yes, we all make choices every day, and every choice we make effects our lives in some way, be it large or small. But what is the most important choice in life? What is the choice that will be the most significant and ultimately have an eternal effect? It is the choice to accept (or reject!) Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
Let’s start off 2023 with a New Year’s Resolution to become a changed and new person—one who is a believer and follower of Christ, the most important choice! II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
How can you become this new creature? If we follow the "Romans Road," (verses from the book of Romans in the Bible,) we can walk down the road to the choice of salvation—often called God’s Simple Plan of Salvation.
The following is the King James Version (KJV) of the "Romans Road":
"As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.'" (Romans 3:10) The Apostle Paul declares that no single human being is "righteous" (best understood as "right with God".)
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Some may protest that they are a good person, especially when compared to people they know or observe, however, the Apostle Paul points out that the standard isn’t any other human, but rather God Himself. The standard is God’s holiness, not man’s, and all of us fall short of that standard!
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Agreeing that we are all sinners who fall short of God’s glory, the Apostle Paul explains that the "wages" (or earnings) of our sin is "death." This includes both physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is when your soul separates from your body. Spiritual death is when your soul is separated from God. And this separation from God extends into eternity. Because of our sin, we face the certainty of both physical death and eternal separation from God.
But the Apostle Paul doesn’t leave us with just bad news! The second half of the verse says, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." To further explain this, we step back a chapter in Romans to go to the next marker on the Romans Road.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) God doesn’t leave us in our sinful state, facing both physical and spiritual death. He commended (gave) love to us even when we didn’t deserve it. Even when we were deep in sin, "Christ died for us."
What do we do this information? Let’s continue on the Roman’s Road…
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13) The bad news is we all fall short of God’s glory and we all face both physical and spiritual death because of it. The good news is that God loved us, sent Jesus to die for us, and anyone who calls upon "the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Call upon Him now—right now! Don’t PRO-crastinate! Take a moment while reading this and whisper a prayer to God. He will hear you and He will save you! Then what? Read the Bible, God’s instruction manual to His children, Pray—talk to God; He listens! Find other Christians to fellowship with and go to church. This is how we grow our faith! Grow stronger in Him and live an abundant life—RESOLVE to make 2023 your best year ever!
"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." Psalm 122:1
The House of the Lord—what a glorious thing that is! As King David says in this verse, just thinking about God’s House brings gladness to the heart! We can think of God’s house as the church building, but His word also tells us that the Christian Believer is the actual dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) We are reminded to glorify God in our bodies—that means with our words and deeds. Let us first trust Him for our salvation and then strive to do our best to glorify Him! Make Good Choices!!
Providence Baptist Church enjoys the privilege of meeting in God’s house, the historic brick building at 40 Main Street. This church has been a beacon for Christ in Walkersville for over 100 years. It is beautiful inside and out; the building is in stable but understandably declining condition. We are tasked (and blessed) with the stewardship of caring for not only God’s children, but His earthly house as well.
It is an honor to stand in the pulpit each week to preach God’s word, knowing that many dedicated Christians have preceded in that very spot. On November 2oth, we had a Homecoming Service which brought together folks who were involved with the church in years past, [or who want to be involved now!] Native Walkersville resident and former long-time member of Georgetown Chapel, [the original name of our church,] Pastor John Schildt was the keynote speaker.
Pastor Schildt is the current pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Rohrersville, Maryland. He is a dedicated man of God, a seasoned student of God’s Word, and an expert in local history. His message was informative; filled with Biblical truths, personal reflections, touching stories, and fascinating facts concerning not only the church history but other Walkersville and local history. We celebrated the day with special music presentations by Walkersville musician, John Grimes, as well as old fashioned hymn singing, sharing and fellowship, prayer, and light refreshments. It was indeed a most enjoyable event. We hope to do a similar event in the future, and perhaps an annual Homecoming. Our sincere thanks to all who participated.
The church meets each Sunday at 11 am. — all are welcome. Although small, we are praying to grow. We would love to have you as our guest! Striving to carry out the great commission in Walkersville and everywhere, we look forward to seeing you soon…
Pastor Don Dvorak and his wife Jacki, reside in "old town" Walkersville. Don is a native of Baltimore and a graduate of The Baltimore School of the Bible and Philadelphia Bible College and Seminary. He has served as Associate Pastor & Music Director at Chesapeake Baptist Church, in Severn Maryland, Soul-Winning Director and Elder at Grace Bible Baptist Church, in Catonsville Maryland, (where he was ordained in 2002), Elder at Fredericktowne Baptist Church, in Walkersville, and has pastored Providence Baptist Church since February 2018. His wife is the former Jacki Fogle, a native and life-long resident of Walkersville. They have been married for almost 40 years, have four sons and five grandsons. Both Don and Jacki are employed full time in addition to their ministries. It is our privilege to serve—what a mighty God we serve!!
